“And you shall not covet your neighbour's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbour's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's.” Deuteronomy 5:21 English Standard Version

Only one verse today but it's an important one. The last command of the 'ten commandments' God gave Moses to teach Israel takes us to sin's root. As James wrote in the New Testament: “Temptation comes from our own desires which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions! And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15). He takes it further and asks: “What causes the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have - so you scheme and kill to get it. You're jealous of what others have, but can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them!” (James 4:1-2)

God said that we mustn't set our hearts and eyes on anything that belongs to our neighbour. When we do it inevitably leads to sinful actions such as lying, stealing, adultery, and even murder! The word 'neighbour' doesn't only meant the folk next door – it includes everyone we come into contact with and have dealings with. What attitudes of our heart would you say are revealed when we are envious of people and their possessions? (Take a moment to think about that.)

I think that when we covet after the things of others it shows an ungrateful heart. Instead of thanking God for all we have, we begrudge Him for things He hasn't given us. We ought rather to be like the apostle Paul who said: “I've learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing - or with everything. I've learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it's with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:10)

Being jealous of others also shows that we've fallen for Satan's lie that happiness comes from possessions rather than from a right relationship with our Creator. In Luke 12:15 Jesus said: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of one's possessions.” Luke 12:15

I'd say too that when we are jealous of others and covet their possessions, we are being selfish and not acting in love. That's what the apostle Paul said in Romans 13:9: “The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet', and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'” Instead of being envious of the ‘good fortune’ of others we ought to be happy for them

This commandment is like an X-Ray of our heart. It shows the inward side of sin. Sin isn't only things we do – it's also things we think and desire. We read in Genesis 6:5 (before God sent the flood of judgement) that “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” So it's possible for people to look respectable on the outside, yet be full of all sorts of wrong desires in the inside.

Have we realised how much we need forgiveness for the thoughts of our heart? Were there times when we were ungrateful towards God, even angry with Him, because things didn't turn out the way we wanted? Have we been envious of the good looks others were born with, or their wealth, or their beautiful wife or good looking husband? If we have then we need to pray the prayer David prayed in Psalm 51:1-2 when he said: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love. According to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”, and in vs 10 where he says: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.