The 10th commandment

P. Diddy, just kidding. Pastor Dr, Daniel Ho, 18/07/2010
We have covered the 9 commandments. The 10 commandments are God’s paradigm for transformation of society.

1. You shall have no other Gods
2. You shall not make yourself any graven image
3. You shall not misuse God’s name
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy
5. Honour your father and mother
6. Do not murder
7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal
9. Do not bear false testimony

Exo 20:17  "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."

Why do people covet?

1. Because of greed in our heart.
People want more and more.  People just want t gain in whatever they can. Gambling is a growing business.
A calculation is made to suggest that an every RM1 given to gambling, the return is only 60%. In other words, gambling business has a gross margin of 40%.
Jer 6:13  "For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
Pro 21:26  All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
2. Because we feel / think that what others have we should have as well.
What other have we must have. What others don’t have we also must have.
There are three kinds of people. The haves , have nots and have not paid for what they have.
The bottom line is to ask ourselves what we need and not what we want.
3. Because we do not know how to say “Enough is enough.”
We go for a wild goose chase for many things. Our homes are filled with so many things our mind is not at peace. When we have a car parked outside, we could be worried about the car scratched, hit by another car, etc. The car has become a problem.
4. Because of peer pressure.
We are compelled to have / possess what others have.
A 100-year old celebrated his birthday and told his friends he has no more peer pressure. How tragic it is for us to have to live to 100 years old to have no peer pressure. It should be now.

Consequences if covetousness

1. It brings unhappiness and restlessness.
Boris Becker won the Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 1985. This record still stands. He wrote that he has no inner peace despite his wealth and fame.
Former Indonesian badminton great Rudy Hartono literally became unknown after his retirement. He contemplated taking his own life. He encountered God and his life was transformed miraculously.
Happiness is not found in things, wealth, face, etc. Suicide rate is higher is not found among the bottom 25% of the wealthy but among the top 25% of the wealthy.
Ecc 5:10  He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
John D. Rockefellar is asked how much money is enough. He said a little bit more.
2. It breeds envy, exploitation and violence.
Jas 4:1-3  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  (2)  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  (3)  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
People often end up quarreling because they of the covetousness in their heart.
Jas 5:1-4  Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.  (2)  Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.  (3)  Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.  (4)  Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Pro 29:4  By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.
3. It produces enslavement and often leads to dishonesty.
Because of covetousness dishonesty set in. Money and wealth enslave us. When the spirit of covetousness takes over, we have no more freedom.
If we find that we cannot stand the temptation when we shop, ask someone else to shop for us. In the shopping list, put down only what we need.
We buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like with money we don’t have.
Eze 33:31  And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.
4. It incurs God’s judgement.
Isa 57:17  Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
Luk 12:20  But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

Implications of this commandment

1. Be contented in life.
The antidote to deal with covetousness is to live a contended life.
This doesn’t not mean we settle with mediocrity.  We will always strife to do out best and to be excellent. But there is no need to compare our possessions with others. If we want what we see others have, they our life is dictated by what others have instead of what we need in our life.
Php 4:12  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
2. Learn to fight against the spirit of hoarding in this world.
It is a tragedy to measure people by their wealth. It is degrading of human life made in the image of God.  All of us are solid gold.
Luk 12:15  And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Exo 18:21  Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
1Pe 5:2  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
(Note: Pastor Daniel’s car is 11 year old and not 15 year old as I shared before.)
Pastor Daniel was offered a Camry by the church (hmm … that’s what I shared with some of my friends.) Pastor Daniel asked for a downgrade.
Pastor Chew was offered a Camry too and he requested a downgrade.
Pastor Philip Lyn drove a 17-year Mistubishi Pajero. His children want him to stop it across the school. A friend told him every time he leaves for prayer at 0530, he knows because he could hear the engine.
Such is the heart of these pastors. They don’t change unless the car is giving problems.
Don’t own something because of the image.
3. Be thankful and steward well what you have.
Otherwise, complaints and grumblings seep in.
1Th 5:18  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Pro 12:24  The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
Pro 10:4  A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Work hard, work well and work strong. Don’t hope for windfall.
4. Give generously to break the covetous spirit.
A generous man is always nice to be with because he is always joyful. Giving is not just for the wealthy. Giving has nothing to do with wealth. It is not how much we have. It has to do with our attitude.
Pro 11:24-25  One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.  (25)  Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
2Co 8:2-4  for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.  (3)  For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,  (4)  begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints--
5. Focus on relationship and not on things or possessions.
Things are too small to break relationship.
This is something similar to what Pastor Daniel shared.
Money Can Buy A Bed But Not Sleep
Money Can Buy A Book But Not A Brain
Money Can Buy Medicine But Not Health
Money Can Buy Food But Not Appetite
Money Can Buy Cosmetics But Not Beauty
Money Can Buy Luxuries But Not Culture
Money Can Buy A House But Not Happiness
Money Can Buy Church But Not God

Questions for discussion

1. What has covetousness done to you and your friends? In what ways are you overcoming the sin of covetousness and what have been the results? How can you help people to overcome this sin of covetousness?
2. How has the Ten Commandments worked for your and what have been the results? Share an instance where you and your environment have been impacted through the application of one or more of the Commandments.