“‘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 (NIV)
I remember hearing a powerful statement made by Andy Stanley that I would like to share with you. He said, “Your appetites are never fully and finally satisfied.” Think about that for a moment in relation to the Tenth Commandment. When you covet, you are feeding an inward desire for something that God says is sinful. God gives you the desire to acquire and to fulfill your God-given appetites. However, when you choose to go beyond the guardrails God has established, it produces sin.
Greed is the seed that converts a want into a need. The Israelites were not to long for, desire earnestly, or lust after what legitimately belonged to others. Greed has a way of inflaming the desire to acquire. God established this particular guardrail to preserve unity and morality in the covenant community.
Control the desire to acquire. When your desire to acquire catches on fire, you begin to worry. The more you have the more you have to take care of and worry about. When the desire to acquire is ignited, there is a tendency to spend more than you make and then the mountain of debt escalates. The desire to acquire can lead you into perpetual disappointment and dissatisfaction. You will feel like it is never enough. When the desire to acquire catches fire you become weary in trying to keep up with others.
Don’t fertilize the seed of greed. Ask the Lord to help you live a life that honors Him and benefits others. Surrender to the Lordship of Christ and yield to His control.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell