Monday, October 12, 2015
Have you ever found yourself sitting next to a friend or family member at a restaurant and when you see what’s on his or her plate you say to yourself, “Man, I should have ordered that!?” If you are honest and confessed that you have, permit me to remind you that you’re just being a normal human being and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that impulsive thought. On the other hand, if you crave what they’ve got to the point of doing something drastic about it, you have just crossed over into a danger zone, namely the area of coveting. The tenth Commandment God gave His people through Moses, says: “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) The key to better understanding this command is to focus on the last part of the sentence, “or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Going back to my initial question, there would be no harm involved if you were to order the same thing your neighbor ordered. If, on the other hand, you were to take someone else’s plate away from them and take if for yourself, that is definitely a sin.
I’ve never researched why so many people are covetous but I suspect most of them are unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and ungrateful. For example, after you have just finished a good meal and are full and satisfied, will the thought of more food even cross your mind? Relating to my opening question to you, I heard a professional comedian once remark that marriage is like eating at a buffet. After seeing what the person in front of you just put in his plate, you wish you had gotten that for yourself. If you agree with that mindset, then you must not be happy or content with the spouse the Lord gave you.
Sadly, life is like that. The world is filled with people who are not satisfied or content with what they have to the point that they will seek something or someone who will fill the void. Then, there are those who are not happy being what God made them. Some men want to be women and vice-versa, as if God actually made a mistake when He created them. The plain truth is that none of these know Christ personally. Those who know Him and love Him are more that happy with who they are and what they have. In Christ, there is true contentment.
Memory verse for the week: (Psalm 34:10 KJV) “The young lions do lack , and suffer hunger : but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”
