Thou Shalt Not Covet Exodus 20: 17 17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Thou Shalt not Covet Covet / (Hebrew) chamad 1) to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in a) (Qal) to desire b) (Niphal) to be desirable c) (Piel) to delight greatly, desire greatly Trying to keep up with the Joneses’ we will do anything to have what they have…who are the Joneses you ask…
Thou Shalt Not Covet
Exodus 20: 17
17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Thou Shalt not Covet
Covet / (Hebrew) chamad
1) to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in
a) (Qal) to desire
b) (Niphal) to be desirable
c) (Piel) to delight greatly, desire greatly
Trying to keep up with the Joneses’ we will do anything to have what they have…who are the Joneses you ask…
The materialistic masses who strive for the latest and greatest are said to be "keeping up with the Joneses." But who are the Joneses and how can they afford so much cool stuff? Read on, shopaholics...
The phrase comes from an early 20th-century comic appropriately titled "Keeping up With the Joneses," by Arthur "Pop" Momand. The Joneses were neighbors to the McGinis family (the main characters) and were sometimes referenced as "objects of envy." According to Don Markstein's Toonpedia, the Joneses never actually appeared in the comic, but that didn't stop the phrase from catching on with image-conscious consumers. (ref - http://ask.yahoo.com/20060321.html)
Examples of people trying to have what was not for them
Genesis 3 - Eve desires that what the serpent has laid before her…
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
2 Samuel 11 - David desires Bathsheba
2And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
Matthew 26 - Judas desired money more than Jesus
15And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Guard the Gates – Hear, See, Smell, Taste, Touch
The gates lead to the heart...
Guard your heart - Proverbs 4
20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
We are to rejoice with them that rejoice, we’re not supposed to try to be like, or keep up with…When your brother or your sister get's blessed it was a blessing for them, you have to be patient and continue to walk out the plan of God for your life.
When we compete we are acting like Lucifer did.
Isaiah 14:12
12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
4 things we must do to get what God has for you
Psalm 37:3-5
3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
When we get to #3 delight we must remember that our delighting ourselves in the Lord is really giving him what he wants for us…not us telling him what we want…– Philippians 2:13 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
He puts desire in us, and it is for his good pleasure…I also tend to believe it should fall in line with our destiny as well. It should help us do what we’ve been called to do.
But also be very aware of the enemy sowing his seed of lust, and greed into our lives as well…we must know that which is carnal does not come from the Lord!
Be blessed as you be the best you, only you can be! Don’t want what your neighbor has, get what God has for you!