Covetousness: One Of The Sins That Comes From Inside
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex 20:17)
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about whether there are sins that are not outside the body. For example, can a person think he/she is something which is condemned by God, but not participate in the sin the characterizes that kind of person, and not be in sin?
That is, is a person sinning if he isn’t actually doing sinful things? Maybe, it depends on whether what is happening inside his head is sinful all by itself.
When Paul quoted this verse in Romans 7:7, “You shall not covet,” he used the same word for ‘covet’ that the Septuagint translation used. Jesus also used the same word when he said,
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:27–28).
What this means is that both Jesus and Paul were looking for principles in what God told Moses in the 10 commandments, not specifics. In other words, the other commandments have to do with what is happening outside a person. This command deals with what is going on inside us. So, it is possible to sin without actually doing anything. If you want something that God has either given to someone else or has not given to you, you are in danger of being guilty of covetousness. To covet something means you don’t have it, she does and you want hers, or one like it. Jesus added that if you look at it in order to want, desire, lust after, or long for, you have broken the 10th commandment in your heart. This commandment reveals our hearts.
But wait, there’s more. Breaking the tenth commandment sets us up for acting on that covetousness. Why do people commit murder? They want something. Why do people steal? They want something. Why do people not observe the Lord’s Day? They want something. Why do people commit adultery? They want something. What we see over and over again, before outside sin, is that covetousness is at the heart of each of them. We want what we want, so we do what we do.
In the beginning, I asked if it is possible to sin without doing anything outwardly. The answer is a resounding yes. We can covet our neighbor’s life, abilities, possessions, position, and gifts. Covetousness is sin and needs to be confessed and repented of just like any other sin. This reminds us of the need to confess our sins.