Showing posts with label coveting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coveting. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

No Coveting

The Tenth Commandment.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.
What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and [diligently] do their duty.

I have sometimes wondered about the differences between the ninth and tenth commandments. It was terribly difficult for me, as a young person, to be able to memorize theses last two properly separated as I could not understand why we taught them as two instead of one commandment. I also could never comprehend (and still don't) how one would go about urging cattle to stay and do their duty. Maybe, not show and entice them with greener grass in another pasture? The only real difference that I see, for the purposes of memory work, is that the ninth commandment has to do with inanimate property; the tenth deals mainly with living, breathing creatures. 

I was online last night researching glasses to help correct color-blindness. I and other members of my family are a bit color blind. It doesn't affect life too adversely; unless, you happen to be working with electrical wires that are color coded. That can be a problem. Mostly, I recognize every color. They just look a little different to me than to those with good color vision.

Sometimes we can all be a bit color blind. We see greener grass when in fact what we may be looking at are dried out weeds. Just because someone tells us the grass is greener; doesn't always make it so. Beware of covetous people who would draw you away for their own selfish purposes.

Sometimes we see someone that we might think we want; but, again, the grass is not always greener... Ensure that you are not falsely enticing others to leave the one who loves them. If they would leave them for you; they well could leave you for another.

Learn to love what is yours and leave your neighbors' alone.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Proverbs 23 - Common Sense; Avoid Coveting

Proverbs 23 includes wise sayings saying 7 through 19. 

Discussing proverbs the other day at a Bible study, someone noted that the proverbs are basically common sense. Sadly, they are not common sense to everyone. Not everyone has common sense. Not everyone has the wisdom to avoid coveting as the majority of these verses warn us to avoid. Coveting; whether, it is food, drink, riches of any kind, women, etc..., will lead to a person's downfall. Coveting these riches will bring poverty upon a person. These things are deceitful. These false gods will steal even the little that you had. They will destroy you. 

"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." (Prov 23:12 NIV) And... live life abundantly in the presence of God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J