"THE TENTH COMMANDMENT (PART I)" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 8/14/25

“Thou 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.” (Exodus 20:17)

The Tenth Commandment forbids two things outright: covetousness in general and covetousness in particular. We should first note that it is lawful to use the things of the world to keep us from poverty and enable us to honor God with works of mercy, but we must be sure we don’t come to a place of coveting. A covetous nature is blatantly against God. Now, what is it to covet? Two words in the Greek set forth the nature of covetousness: there’s pleonexia, which signifies an 'insatiable desire of getting the world' or to desire more than enough, and there’s phylarnyria, which indicates an 'inordinate love of the world.’ A person may be said to be covetous, not only who gets the world unrighteously, but who loves the world inordinately.

There are six particulars which signify when one may be said to be given to covetousness:

Their thoughts are wholly taken up with this life. As a good man's thoughts are still in heaven; he is thinking of Christ's love and eternal recompense, so a covetous man is still with the world; his mind is wholly taken up about it; he can think of nothing but his pleasure.

They take more pains for gaining while on earth than for the future gain of Heaven. They do things like: leave no stone unturned, lose sleep, and even risk injury for the world, but will take no pains for Christ or Heaven.

All discourse is about the world. As John 3:31 says, "…he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth." A sign that a person bows to covetousness is when they speak only of secular things. Words are often the looking glass of the heart, in that they reveal what is essential to it.

The heart of the covetous one is so set upon worldly things that for the love of them, they’ll part with the Heavenly. For just a wedge of gold, they are willing to part with the invaluable pearl.

One overloads themself with worldly business. In this sense, they are a pluralist; taking so much business upon themself that they cannot find time to serve God.

A person whose heart is so set upon the world that, to get it, they don’t care what unlawful indirect means are employed is said to be given to covetousness.

In Luke 12:15, we are instructed to “Take heed, and beware of covetousness.” It is a direct breach of the Tenth Commandment. Coveting is a moral vice that infects and pollutes the entirety of the soul. The sin is a subtle sin or a sin that many might not know they commit. This sin can dress itself in the attire of virtue in frugality and good husbandry. It makes many excuses for itself, more than most other sins. Many covetous people will say, “I can’t be sinning, I’m just providing for my family,” but the more subtle the sin is, the less obvious it is. It is also a dangerous sin. It is an enemy to grace that damps good affections, as the earth puts out the fire. Covetousness hinders the efficacy of the word preached. You may as well ask an elephant to fly as a covetous soul to live by faith. The sin is a radical vice as well. I Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is the root of all evil." The person who has an earthly itch or greedy desire to get the world has in him the root of all sin.