Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15
Not for the first time I have pondered on the order of the Ten Commandments. "Thou shalt not covet" comes at the end, seemingly as an after-thought. However, I have often thought that if I can refrain from coveting, the other commandments will take care of themselves.
If I do not covet another's possessions, I will not be tempted to take what does not belong to me. If I do not covet another's repurtation, I will not be tempted to speak ill of him or to bear false witness against him. And so it goes.
This I know for sure: when I shun the sin of coveting, I keep the other commandments.
I feel just the same. Well said.
ReplyDeleteMy mother has a quote on her fridge that says something like this. All the other commandments protect us from hurting others, but the commandment not to covet is there is protect us from hurting ourselves. Something like that.
ReplyDelete