The Tenth Commandment

In giving the world the Ten Commandments, God briefly expressed the entire essence of man's relationship with man and man's relationship with God. Any of God's commandments can be fulfilled in a visible way, according to the letter of the law, and one can consider that this is sufficient. However, one should consider that God's statutes also imply spiritual condemnation for violators, which extends to the secret thoughts and motives of man.

The tenth commandment very clearly says: "You shall not covet..." particularly pointing to the thoughts of the soul, which no one except God can know and see, unless a person expresses them aloud.

Regarding any commandment, any hypocrite is capable of declaring to his neighbors that he does not commit what it forbids. However, how can one prove to society that your thoughts are pure, and you think only in the right direction, not allowing any temptation to overcome you?

It should be considered that the original sin was reborn precisely in the heart of a perfect being who occupied the highest position among other heavenly inhabitants. And if angels could read each other's thoughts, they would have been surprised by the hypocrisy of the covering cherub and would hardly have supported his rebellion. Satan's accusation begins with the words: "And you said in your heart..." (Is. 14:13). Before the whole world are exposed the true thoughts and motives of behavior of the one to whom the greatest trust was shown and who occupied the highest position.

Let's give an example of such influence in our time. The president of any country is a legal entity whose word and signature are an expression of the will of the highest authority. And hearing this or that decree certified by the president, all the people of his country are obliged to fulfill it. And somewhere in their souls all people believe that this trusted person has the purest motives and does everything for the benefit of the people. No president will ever tell you about everything that moves him in making this or that decision. And we would be very surprised if we could learn the true motives of the country's top leadership.

The tenth commandment opens every heart and exposes before God all the thoughts and desires of man. It is said: "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Ex. 20:17). The question arises: "Does this prohibition extend to your neighbor's husband?" The answer is unambiguous: "Yes." God expressed in His law the principles of correct attitude of people toward God and relationships among themselves. If there were no such commandment, then envy would be considered a norm of life and would not bring so much trouble and disappointment to people.

What does a person who violates the tenth commandment acquire? By and large, nothing. And what does he lose? He ceases to be content with what he possesses.

The principle of the tenth commandment is directly connected with our inner happiness. If someone has everything, but this doesn't satisfy him because his neighbor possesses what he would also like to have, then such a person can hardly be called happy. Envy does not bring happiness and peace to the heart. God did not plan to breed happy sinners and make their life in sin beautiful.

What did this small sin lead Satan to? To losing his high position, being cast out from Heaven, becoming a murderer, and then dealing with God's Son Himself. Satan did not acquire anything he desired, but lost everything he had. And even now he envies all the saved, because they inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, will sit on the throne and will live forever.

Building a happy family implies that the thoughts of spouses will be pure from secret desires that violate God's commandment. What good will envy bring to a family? Nothing. And what will this family lose if it develops such a spirit in itself? Everything. But for some reason such thoughts and desires take place in the hearts of many.

While Satan is alive, and we have carnal nature, such envious thoughts can come to mind, and something needs to be done with them. While a weed is small, it's easy to pull it out and remove it from the garden, but when it has taken root and grown, more effort is needed to get rid of this problem.

God's love immediately recognizes the unclean spirit of envy, because these thoughts contradict the spirit of self-denial and deprive a person of contentment with life.

How would this commandment sound today in modern language? "You shall not covet your neighbor's apartment; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his prosperity, nor his success, nor his car, nor his smartphone, nothing that belongs to your neighbor."

Things have changed, but the principle remains the same. Imagine a sinner who violates this commandment and gets to Heaven. He will envy others' crowns, others' clothing, others' position. He will not be gladdened by others' happiness, and he himself will not be happy. And someday his dissatisfaction will pour out into a new rebellion against those whom he envies. What is the surest way to get what you don't have? Kill, take by force, steal and destroy. This is not the spirit of Heaven, but the lust of the flesh.

The world is driven by envy. This is a powerful stimulus in successful trade, in the arms race, in GDP growth, in economic development. But we are not of this world, and God expects from us other priorities and goals, revealing to us the spirit and meaning of true values.

The grass in someone else's garden may seem greener, but it also needs to be mowed. A man dreaming of someone else's wife doesn't understand the consequences of his desires. Essentially, he wants quick happiness without obligations and in an unlawful way. What does he need to go through to lawfully obtain what he desires? His wife must die, the husband of the desired woman must die. This widow must show interest in the new man and somehow love him against the background of her grief. They must somehow correspond to each other in many matters and go through a long procedure of premarital relationships to make an error-free choice. The man must take upon himself new obligations and responsibility for the happiness of the new wife and her children, if any, and then offer her his hand and heart. Will the envious person be ready for such trials? Will he be faithful in thoughts and feelings to the one he finally received? No. The quick path through violation of the seventh commandment would suit him better, but he doesn't have even that.

But God weighs everything and offers the better way, the most excellent way, the way of love.

Envy destroys any friendship, any good relationships and will give its victim nothing except vanity of thoughts and vexation of spirit. But love will bring happiness, many imperishable treasures, prospects of Eternal development, many new friends, new revelations and abundance of everything that is even difficult to imagine. One can even envy those who simply love not as you do, but sincerely and with all their soul. Is it worth indulging such a spirit? Maybe start with love and instead of sinful desires strive to give, serve and bless your neighbors, so that through you what they so lack would multiply and increase?

Is it worth weighing your true motives and desires yourself before getting on God's scales, where I might turn out to be very light? But understanding your problem will not solve it. Power from above is needed to overcome this sin and completely remove it. Love cleanses an envious heart very quickly and forever. It prays for those whose wife is better, and rejoices in their happiness. And it knows how to give and surrender itself.

1. Please read 1 Cor. 13:4; Deut. 5:21; Prov. 6:23-29; 12:5; Rom. 7:7-11; 8:5-10; 13:8-10; Gen. 6:5; Job 31:1; Ps. 138:2-4; Matt. 9:4; Mark 2:6-8; 2 Cor. 10:4-6; Phil. 4:8; Heb. 4:12 in light of this lesson.

2. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

3. What did you understand from this topic?

4. What does correct fulfillment of the tenth commandment look like?

5. Why does the Lord require purity in thoughts from us?

6. Will a person be able to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven if his deeds are right, but his thoughts are impure?

7. How can I determine if the desires in my heart are right?

8. What to do if envious thoughts come to mind and there's no way to get rid of them?

9. What does an envious person acquire?

10. Why is it said about love that it does not envy?

11. What is dangerous about envy?

12. How can one help an envious person get rid of this sin?

13. Does the success and prosperity of your loved ones make you happy?

14. How can the tenth commandment be quoted in a positive sense? Now it says what cannot be done, but what can and should be done?

15. Was this lesson useful to you?