Do Not Covet

July 20th, 2006

Do Not Covet

I’m taking a break from studying. I have quiz software that I programmed questions in and I just got a 100 on the questions. I must say, I did ask some easy and some tough questions alike… more tough question, though. But I did make the test. So it is good to take a break and then go back to it a little later and see I do. It may be different then. Anyway, I had some thought on coveting. The 10th commandment made me think earlier in the class and I thought that the devil must really use coveting in a really big way. I am being tested on the commandments, all of them actually, but this one intrigues me.

Covet (verb):

• To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another’s).


• To wish for longingly.


• To feel immoderate desire for that which is another’s.

Now, to take this a step further, the synonyms for covet really bring the word to life. Here are some synonyms for covet:

• aspire to


• begrudge


• choose


• crave


• envy


• fancy


• long for


• lust after


• spoil for


• thirst for


• want


• wish for


• yearn for

Wow. That’s a bit of a list. And I can take that several different ways. And so can the evil the evil one. I want do something good. The bad boy pokes a stick in side and twists my thinking and all of a sudden I’m taking that good idea in the wrong direction.

James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Interesting… “Resist the devil.” It says earlier in this chapter, actually in verses 1 thru 3: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

And the devil will work with these key words. He’ll work with wrong motives and make them feel right. He’ll make my pleasures seem worthy. He’ll justify my wants and desires. That’s what coveting is all about. The NIV only uses the word “covet” in 8 scriptures. But it’s used enough to know that it’s not a good thing to do. Envy is used 21 times. And I am sure the word “want” used in the context on covet is used quite a lot. I don’t know. I was actually surprised to find that these was only 168 scriptures using the word “want”. I skimmed through some of them, some appeared in context of covet and others weren’t. It would be an interesting study. But alas, it makes me think of what to make of my Christmas list… Seriously though, it is something to think about. I have to get back to studying. Johnny Out.