Thou Shalt Not Covet

Lamb

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What does it mean to covet and do you think you have fallen prey to this? What helps you not to covet what others have?
 

tango

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What does it mean to covet and do you think you have fallen prey to this? What helps you not to covet what others have?

I think the concept of coveting is one that's often misused.

I remember someone on another board I used a while ago saying gambling was inherently bad because it involved coveting the money other players brought to the table. I don't think that makes any more sense than arguing that shopping is bad because you covet the goods on the shelves.

I see coveting as when a desire to own something becomes consuming, a desire to own something that takes on a life of its own. In the same way that there is a difference between noticing an attractive woman (or man, depending!) and lusting after her, so there is a difference between wanting a possession and coveting it.

To a large extent a sense of contentment is a good antidote to coveting, as is a sense of understanding the costs of ownership. In many ways I would like a very expensive sports car, or a private helicopter, or whatever but even aside from the upfront cost of buying the thing the ongoing costs get ugly too. I don't really want to have to deal with the insurance and servicing of an exotic Italian supercar, let alone deal with something that gets 12mpg on a good day and less if you drive it the way it was meant to be driven. A big house requires more time and money to clean, heat and maintain, and so on.
 

Andrew

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I don't want anything that others have, I used to be a bitter jealous person until God changed me. There are things I need like steady income, good health coverage, shelter food clothes etc. Buying something for yourself is not coveting and definitely not thieving, nothing wrong with fair purchase. Wanting a promotion is also a need for promotion, you cant just shoot up the ladder you have to work for it, and congratulate the one who beats you to it.
As far as gambling, i have never done it, i heard its addicting because you are in constant suspense of wanting.
I do try to talk to women but as soon as they mention they are talking to other people or are with someone I have to discontinue and they get upset, I just cant stand cheaters, i definitely dont want someone elses girl.
What I do want is grow ever closer to the Lord and his word.

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tango

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I don't want anything that others have, I used to be a bitter jealous person until God changed me. There are things I need like steady income, good health coverage, shelter food clothes etc. Buying something for yourself is not coveting and definitely not thieving, nothing wrong with fair purchase. Wanting a promotion is also a need for promotion, you cant just shoot up the ladder you have to work for it, and congratulate the one who beats you to it.
As far as gambling, i have never done it, i heard its addicting because you are in constant suspense of wanting.
I do try to talk to women but as soon as they mention they are talking to other people or are with someone I have to discontinue and they get upset, I just cant stand cheaters, i definitely dont want someone elses girl.
What I do want is grow ever closer to the Lord and his word.

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

There's a difference between wanting something and needing it... in your example of the promotion it's one thing to have ambition but another thing when that ambition results in all sorts of things being sacrificed on the altar of career advancement.

As with most things it's a question of balance. If you're contented in your current role you don't need to work hard to get a promotion.
 

Josiah

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covet [kuhv-it]


verb (used with object)

1. to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another's property.

2. to wish for, especially eagerly: He won the prize they all coveted.


verb (used without object)

3. to have an inordinate or wrongful desire.



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I learned that "covet" means to claim or try to apprehend something to which I have no right or justification.

It is wrong to covet my neighbor's wife because I have no right to seek that; she's married. It's okay to see a job to which I'm qualified. It's okay to buy a new refrigerator that I can afford.



.
 

Lamb

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All of the commandments go back to the first commandment. If you've broken any of the 10 then you've broken the first. When we covet something or someone we turn that into a god and we have broken the first commandment.

I like this link on the topic: http://lutheranreformission.blogspot.com/2011/10/definition-of-covet.html
In explaining the Ninth Commandment, Martin Luther said that we should not scheme to get our neighbor’s possessions or obtain them in a way which only has the appearance of being right, but rather that we should help and be of service to our neighbor in keeping what is his.

When explaining the Tenth Commandment, he went on to say that we should not seek to entice away another person’s wife or workers, or turn them against him, but rather that we should encourage them to stay and do what is their duty toward him.

In the Tenth Commandment, we see that the object of the sin of coveting might also be a person. For example, one man might desire to be with a woman who has already been married to another man, or an employer might desire the services of an employee who is already contracted to work with another company. If they plot or attempt to lure the wife or the employee away and make them their own, they would be coveting.

Coveting differs from greed in that greed is simply the desire to trust possessions above God and the sinful desire to obtain them, even if through means that are otherwise lawful and moral, while coveting specifically refers to the possessions of another person.

If a person desires to improve their standing in life or to achieve greater success and compensation, this is not an act of coveting. In fact, it is a wise an noble aspiration if it is done righteously rather than by taking what belongs to another.

The simplest summary of the sin of coveting is as the desire to commit any of the other sins listed in the previous commandments. If a person covets another’s possessions, they would also be breaking the seventh commandment. If they covet another’s spouse, they would be sinning against the sixth commandment, and if they covet another person’s authority or reputation they would be sinning against the fourth or eighth commandments.
 
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