The Sin of Covetousness

Lest we think that God’s law is concerned only with outward action and not our inner thoughts and desires, today’s passage makes it clear that the Lord’s statutes are directed at much more than mere behavior modification. His regulations go far deeper, as we see in the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex. 20:17).

Coveting has to do with our desires. To covet something is to desire it. Not all desires fall under the category of covetousness. Some of our desires are, in fact, aimed at good things. For instance, Proverbs 11:23 tells us that “the desire of the righteous ends only in good.” In prohibiting covetousness, God is marking out as evil a certain kind of desire.

What kind of desire constitutes covetousness? It cannot be the simple desire to have something that we do not yet possess. A single man or woman who desires to be married is not desiring something inherently wrong, for a godly spouse is a gift from the Lord (Prov. 18:22). A man who desires the office of overseer or elder in the church is not necessarily coveting, since that office is a noble thing to desire (1 Tim. 3:1). It is not coveting to desire something good unless we are desiring something that does not rightly belong to us. Note the qualifications in the tenth commandment of coveting something that properly belongs to our neighbor (Ex. 20:17). Thus, it is not sinful for a single woman to want a husband, but it is sinful if the husband she wants is already another woman’s husband. It is not sinful to want a nice home, but it is sinful to want our neighbor’s nice home if our neighbor is unwilling to sell it to us.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know where we have crossed the line from a good desire into covetousness. Here, looking at other attitudes of our hearts can be helpful. If we spend an inordinate amount of time dwelling on our desires or start to get envious of our neighbor’s prosperity, wishing that he would lose it, then covetousness is very likely taking root in our hearts. The solution is to repent and to redirect our desires toward God, seeking contentment in His provision. Ultimately, the tenth commandment reminds us that God demands that we bring our desires in line with His. As John Calvin comments, “Not only are we commanded not to will anything, except what is right and pleasing to God, but also that no impure desire should affect our hearts.”