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You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
This commandment is a reminder that not everything you desire
will be profitable for you to covet at every opportunity.
This is the tenth commandment of the Decalogue. The Roman
Catholics split this into two commandments to make up for the merging of the
first and second commandment into one commandment. They are able to do this
because the words "You shall not covet”, are mentioned twice. What is
rather odd, however, is the fact "you shall not covet your neighbor's
house" comes first and suggests that this commandment could simply be
summed up as, "You shall not covet anything that is part of your
neighbor's household." Or "You shall not covet anything that belongs
to your neighbor".
Although this commandment addresses what predominately seems
to be a male issue, coveting is also a female issue. Some people take umbrage
at the idea that a wife might belong to a man because this sounds like she is
some kind of chattel. In many places of the world, women are still treated like
they are chattel. However, you can take heart that this also means, "You
shall not covet your neighbor's husband."
Polyandry (where a wife has more than one husband) is
virtually unknown among humans. One of the reasons for this, from a
psychological view, is men are less inclined to invest in a child not thought
to be their own. The exception to this is when two brothers may marry the same
woman, which is known in Tibet and Nepal, northern India and some African
tribes. Since the brothers are kin, they are more inclined to take an interest
in the offspring, and the chances are the male offspring will bear a family
resemblance to the brothers' side of the family are much greater, so the
brothers would not know who fathered the child.
As for woman not coveting other men and having affairs with
them, in America it is estimated that about one in five children are fathered
by another man outside of the marriage, which means that about twenty percent
of married men with children are probably raising someone else's child,
thinking the child to be his own offspring. Cuckoldry (where men unknowingly
raise another man's child in the belief that the child is their own) is not an
American phenomenon, for this occurs in all countries of the world today, even
among those where more than one wife is the norm, and can be expected to have
been occurring throughout history, but probably not as frequently as it does
today.
As for the Roman Catholic Church actually splitting this
commandment into two commandments, unless there was a lot of coveting by men of
other men's wives going on, there would be no real reason for the emphasis,
unless, of course, the church authorities did not want people to learn about
God's prohibition on kneeling in prayer before works of art and praying to
what, or whom, the artwork depicted, as in the case of saints or Mary, the mother
of Jesus, who has been exalted within the church to become not just the woman
hand-picked to give birth to Jesus Christ, but the actual mother of God and the
queen of heaven (which is the exaltation of mortal humanity above the one and
only immortal Creator of life, the Lord God Almighty, in whom alone dwells
immortality).
Feminism is not to be confused with femininity. Femininity
is where a woman expresses her own God-given uniqueness as a female. Feminism
is a movement that promotes female domination. This originates from the desire
of women, who believe that they suffer unfairly under a male-dominated world,
because they do not have the same rights as men. These women are aggrieved in
their troubled spirits, not because they live in a world dominated by men, as
they imagine, but because they do not want to admit to their own unique
femininity. No man can have the pleasure of bearing and giving birth to a
child, then have the child suck on his breast, while nurturing and experiencing
the bond of togetherness, that a woman can have. This is a privilege that God
gave to women. But feminists believe that they are denied rights that men have
and covet something which is not God ordained for women. This covetousness
brings about all sorts of evil. Dubbed the mother of modern feminism, Germaine
Greer, might not think that she is evil, but her teachings and her life are
evil in the sight of God and are an offence to the Creator, as are all who
oppose God's ways. She is a woman who regrets not being able to experience the
thrill of femininity. She was even reported in one newspaper to be suffering
depression in the 1980s as a consequence of not having given birth to a child
and being in touch with her true biological self, and being able to express her
womanhood.
A study of the life of Germaine Greer shows a woman who
appears to be angry and craving for celebrity status, because of the choices
she has made in life. She mixed with those who had nihilist and anarchist
tendencies and lived for herself, only to wind up a woman in her 60s seeking
attention in the media and striving for people to notice her. Like all mortals,
her covetousness for position and power outside of what God has purposed has
ended in her life demonstrating the folly of her actions; although, there are
many more women who believe they can be more male than men and compete with
males. However, just like Greer they run the risk of caricature, rather than
exaltation. The Bible has some very sombre words to say about women:
For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam
was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15Nevertheless
she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and
holiness, with self-control (1 Tim. 2:13-15).
For women to try and usurp men and assume their role in
society is contrary to the order God has ordained. Coveting political
aspirations and wanting to rule the roost is anathema to God's order. The lost
city of Atlantis was ruled by women and many people believed this to be a fable,
but excavation on the islands of Thera and Crete in the Mediterranean Sea have
revealed that there was an ancient civilization that appears to have been ruled
by women. This civilization was ruled from Thera, which was a volcanic island
that erupted around the time of Moses and destroyed the inhabitants and
culture. In fact, this civilization was so advanced, it has been postulated
that if the culture and knowledge had been left intact, the world would have
the knowledge available at the beginning of the 21st century by the time of the
birth of Jesus Christ. Instead, it has taken another two thousand years to
catch up, which will be the around the time of the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ. What is suggested here is this civilization was destroyed because they
had gotten too far out of the purpose of God, just like Sodom and Gomorrah. God
has set the boundaries of humankind's habitation and to covet something outside
of this is to challenge God. Luke, the Physician, has recorded the divinely
inspired words of the apostle Paul, when visiting Athens for the first time, in
which he says:
Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very
religious; 23“for as I was passing through and considering the
objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE
UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I
proclaim to you: 24“God, who made the world and everything in it,
since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with
hands. 25“Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed
anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26“And
He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their
dwellings, 27“so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that
they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of
us; 28“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some
of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’ (Acts 17:22-29).
Just because God has given us all a free will, this does not
mean that we can now covet everything we see and take possession of it. This
applies to positions of power and authority and influence. Yes, people can
influence other people, but what they influence others towards doing will be
something for which they will have to give an account. For instance, the
coveting of gender positions comes from the wrong desires. This applies to both
men and women. Lesbianism and homosexuality require that people take on gender
roles for which they are not biologically equipped. Yes, participants in these
behaviors might argue that they are the opposite gender trapped in the wrong
biological body; but that is just an argument to justify wrongful ungodly
desire. This desire is an attempt by humans to usurp God and claim that they
are the rulers of life. Unfortunately, this is a deception from being wanton
for something that does not belong to them. The written word of God says:
26For this reason God
gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use
for what is against nature. 27Likewise also the men, leaving the
natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men
committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their
error which was due. 28And even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those
things which are not fitting; (Romans 1:36-28).
Covetousness is how evil came into this world in the first
place. Eve looked at the tree of knowledge of good and evil and saw that the fruit
was delightful to her eyes, and made her mouth water so much that her hunger
increased all the more; but it was the desire of becoming wise that caused her
to usurp the authority of her husband. Eve got caught up in her desires and
leapt across the boundary that God had set for her. Adam followed Eve's leading
and did the same when he saw Eve eat, but not drop down dead. He, too, could
not bear the thought of the woman becoming wiser than himself. Likewise, today,
men are desiring to be the same as the women and covet their femininity, while
denying their own masculinity. The mess in the world today speaks for itself.
Even though the world is filled with covetousness, God has allowed it, and has
given everyone the opportunity to work out for themselves what is right and
what is wrong. He himself has not only set the boundaries of mankind's
habitation, but also the pre-appointed times. The one time that no can escape
is the pre-appointed time, when at death, judgment comes for those who reject
God's purpose and attempt to usurp his power and authority by challenging his
divine order for the family and society.
It is rather amazing that feminists do not covet to be like
the woman of Proverbs:
If you can find a truly good wife, she
is worth more than precious gems! 11Her husband can trust her, and
she will richly satisfy his needs. 12She will not hinder him but
help him all her life. 13She finds wool and flax and busily spins
it. 14She buys imported foods brought by ship from distant ports. 15She
gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day’s
work for her servant girls. 16She goes out to inspect a field and
buys it; with her own hands she plants a vineyard. 17She is
energetic, a hard worker, 18and watches for bargains. She works far
into the night! 19-20She sews for the poor and generously helps
those in need. 21She has no fear of winter for her household, for
she has made warm clothes for all of them. 22She also upholsters
with finest tapestry; her own clothing is beautifully made—a purple gown of
pure linen. 23Her husband is well known, for he sits in the council
chamber with the other civic leaders. 24She makes belted linen
garments to sell to the merchants. 25She is a woman of strength and
dignity and has no fear of old age. 26When she speaks, her words are
wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says. 27She
watches carefully all that goes on throughout her household and is never lazy. 28Her
children stand and bless her; so does her husband. He praises her with these
words: 29“There are many fine women in the world, but you are the
best of them all!”
30Charm can be
deceptive and beauty doesn’t last, but a woman who fears and reverences God
shall be greatly praised. 31Praise her for the many fine things she
does. These good deeds of hers shall bring her honor and recognition from
people of importance. (Proverbs 31:10-30 Living Bible)
Here we see a woman who excels at not only being a mother
and wife but also a business woman. She is productive and innovative and able
to apply her intellectual and creative talents to benefiting her household
through her entrepreneurship. But more than this, rather than coveting
attention, this woman is more concerned about helping the poor in practical
ways. What is really amazing is that this woman had all these virtues and
freedoms, craved by many women today, in a world that was dominated by
patriarchs. Anyhow, many feminists overlook the fact that in most homes the
woman runs the household; this woman in Proverbs demonstrates that activities
need not be restricted to the home front.
Today's information age is different in many respects to
that of the agrarian based society of the past. People have more objects,
technology, and roles available to covet than in times past. Yet the basic
wantonness and covetousness still originates from the wrongful desires that
afflict us, as a consequence of being born into this world. Of this the Bible
says:
15Do not love the world
or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is
of the world. 17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).
The ways of the world do not bring satisfaction, and because
of this they can be hard to control. In fact, many people are out of control
and they do not know it. We are not just talking about losing one's temper, but
about having an unbridled, uncontrollable, all consuming, wantonness towards
sexual deviation and money and addictions; although, losing one's temper and
being motivated by festering anger is often at the root of many of the world's
evils.
A typical example of worldliness is evidenced in the much
publicized divorce of American model Christine Brinkley from her fourth husband
architect Peter Cook. Cook was having a sexual affair with his teenage assistant
and was spending, each month, one thousand and eight hundred British pounds on
his pornography addiction. Brinkley is famously known as "the uptown
girl" in a video accompanying the song "Uptown Girl", which is
about a downtown working class man coveting the affections of a girl who lived
a life he couldn't afford.
Michael Jackson is another example of someone coveting what
he cannot have. Born of black Afro-American parents, Michael Jackson coveted a
life that was unnatural. He not only changed his looks by cosmetic surgery, so
that he looked alien to his family, and to make sure that he did look alien, he
also took pigment changing substances to alter his skin color. Unable to form a
stable relationship with a woman, Jackson coveted the companionship of boys,
whom he would sleep with in his bed.
Many priests have been found lusting after the flesh and
committing perverted acts of indecency and sodomy on boys in their charge.
These men, like other pedophiles, have an insatiable torment within themselves
that causes them to long wantonly for the fleshly pleasures that are supposed
to gratify their lust, but, instead, merely inflames the inordinate carnal
desires within their soul, causing them to commit unbridled acts of lewdness,
time and time again, with their wicked imagination running riot in their minds,
leaving them feeling that the only way they can relieve their torment is to
cause pain to their innocent victims. Desire can be controlled, but when it
becomes lust, it gets out of hand and controls the person who gives in to it.
Jack the Ripper was infamous for killing five prostitutes in
1888, when many immigrants and lower class women resorted to prostitution and
solicited customers in London's East End. However, a number of further unsolved
murders continued into 1891, which are also thought to have been the work of
Jack the Ripper. But what is attributed to Jack the Ripper, who was never
caught, falls short of the horror of what Ted Bundy committed. Ted Bundy
confessed to the murder of fifty women whom he had raped, or sodomized, and
mutilated, before he killed them. Many people directly involved with Ted Bundy
believed he is responsible for the murder of at least one hundred women. His
unbridled lust went beyond just wanting to satisfy his natural libido or having
the excessive desire of a satyr. Ted Bundy was a deranged predator who had lost
control of his ability to restrain his desire to covet what was not his.
John Wayne Gacy illustrates another sinister episode of
covetousness taking over a person who wrongfully desires what God has already
forbidden and which this commandment warns against. Gacy was twice married; but
was a homosexual. He admitted killing and mutilating thirty of his male victims
whom he had sodomized and abused physically, emotionally and sexually. Among
the many things found in Gacy's home and submitted as evidence were books such
as “The Rights of Gay People”, “Sex Between Men and Boys”, and “The American Bi-Centennial
Gay Guide”. This fiend's lust was fostered by the publications that he read. In
fact, his second wife, whom he apparently married as a cover, left him because
of the literature he was reading and his admitted preference for homosexuality.
David Berkowitz, known as the son of Sam, killed people in
New York because he was following the orders of a demon dog. Self-confessed
Satanists have often appeared before the courts for the rape torture,
mutilation, ritualistic slaying, cannibalism of their victims, having confessed
to drinking their victim's blood as a toast to Satan. Probably the most
infamous Satanist cult figure to be convicted is Charles Manson for the heinous
crimes he and his communal tribe committed in the 1960s. And there have been many
other convictions since, but what is more alarming is the Indianapolis Star on
May 3, 1996 reported what appears to be a disturbing tendency in a world out of
control and given over to covetousness: "Three teenage Satanists in San
Louis Obispo, California, are charged with raping, torturing and murdering 15
year old Elyse Pahler. Prosecutors say the defendants hoped a virgin sacrifice
would earn them 'a ticket to hell'." Instead of desiring to know the true
God of the Universe, these souls desire to be captive to the passions of the
god of this world.
Lust of the flesh is evidenced in obesity, pornography,
prostitution, rape, carnal seduction, addictions to sugar, chocolates, coffee,
tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, medications, cocaine, opiates, gambling and other
activities that create physiological dependency within the body's chemistry.
But, even though, there is a physiological reaction as a result of the food, or
substances ingested, and the behavior involved in various activities, this is
no excuse for allowing the cravings to become covetousness and then turn into
uncontrollable, unbridled lust.
Lust of the eyes includes a longing for beauty, be it found
in male or female, objects of art or clothing, or the acquisition of gold,
wealth, or money, or anything else that appeals to the eye and creates a
psychological dependency upon having your eyes feast upon them, such as looking
at yourself in the mirror and admiring your good looks or imagined perfection
for hours on end, as some are prone to do.
Pride of life leads to being consumed with egocentricity and
essentially self-worship. This is when adulation of one's imagined perfection
turns into vanity and self-exaltation of one's importance consumes one's life.
This often manifests as haughtiness; where a person will look down upon people
with disdain, because the person thinks that he is superior in intellect than
other mere mortals. Or the person may be a woman who considers herself to more
worthy and noble than her inferior servants or hired assistants. Celebrities
can have egos so big that they think the world revolves around them. Many
celebrities are renowned for being so egocentric that they throw tantrums over
very small things, giving the impression that their life depended upon
something inconsequential. Certain film and television stars have gotten upset
when their name is not on the door of their dressing room. At one hospital
certain medical specialists have been known to be so supercilious that they
insist on having their names in larger letters than other medical specialists,
just so people know who they are and how much more important they
are than the other specialists treating the patients.
One medical doctor, though, went beyond
superciliousness. Even though Harold Shipman was remembered by some who knew
him at university as someone who would look down upon them, and his staff saw
him as arrogant and rude, he has surpassed any other serial murderers in the
number of people he has killed. Some two hundred and thirty six murders have been
attributed to him, with the possibility that over four hundred people had been
killed by him. Shipman had a drug habit and was over prescribing and killing
off his patients. The official coroner’s report stated that Shipman appeared to
be addicted to killing, in much the same way he was addicted to the drugs, he
was over-prescribing for his patients, and received enjoyment in viewing the
process of dying and the feeling of control that he had over life and death.
Shipman coveted power over people and liked to think that in his own hands he
had the power of life and death.
While it is easy to think of lust as excessive desire, and
this predominately has to do with drunkenness or gluttony or promiscuity or
gambling or power, what is often overlooked is that pride of life is about the
glory of life. The glory of life, Jesus said was more evident in the beauty of
a flower than in anything that humans might produce. When you see lush
vegetation and flowers in full bloom, exuding their magnetic attractiveness that
lures you to admire how remarkable and irresistibly beautiful they are, with
their iridescent color, and then you are captivated by their fragrance, you
realize how impoverished man-made attempts have been of creating something
equally as glorious. Even today, with technology that is able to come closer
than any time in history at recreating the beauty and glory found in creation,
what is produced is only a virtuality and not true reality. What this means is
people are boasting in vain about man-made attempts of recreating what God has
done, because, even at its best, what has been created by mankind will never be
everlasting. In this respect, like the flowers that are more glorious than
anything humans can produce, but only last for a short season before they
wither, self-boasting about man-made attempts of reproduction is vainglorious
and empty. Consider the lives of celebrities, the famous, and the beautiful
people who with all privilege, prestige, and pride, attend gala events that are
televised across the globe, so that the average man and woman might be
bedazzled by the pomp and ceremony of the occasion of events like the Academy
Awards or the Eurovision Song Festival or a wedding of the likes of that when
Prince Charles of England married Diana Spencer. Meanwhile, in India, pomp and
prestige are seen in the religious ceremonies that accompanying their holy
days, where so-called god-men are adorned in flowers, exalted, adored and
worshiped.
Desire is a natural part of being human. Just as God desires
that all men come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved, so, too, every
human has been invested with the capacity to desire not just a relationship
with each other but also with God, and the knowledge that accompanies this that
makes man a sentient being capable of being perceptive and drawing inferences
from experiences. The reason humans have this ability is they have been created
in the image of God.
Psychologists have made some valuable contributions to the
human knowledge base, even if many are misguided in the belief that the theory
of evolution is scientifically proven to be fact. The only facts that are
really acceptable are the ones that can be proven. Man might have a desire to
discover truth, but when people start talking about events that happened
outside their own experience, which they cannot demonstrate with indisputable
evidence to be a fact today, then truth goes out the window and delusion sets
in. Evidence of delusion is seen when astrophysicists talk about traveling
millions of light years as if it was like traveling around the globe in a
couple of days. Biologists are also guilty of misrepresentation when they talk
about how, by chance, life evolved over billions of years from some simple
single cell bacteria to the complexities of life on earth as we know it today;
even though they cannot prove the theory, it is presented as an indisputable
fact. Real science produces or records information that can be proven in the
now.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is basically desires that humans
have that need to be met in order for each person to be satisfied. These are
categorized into five different needs and are usually illustrated in the form
of a pyramid with the physiological needs at the bottom and then the needs for
safety, social, and esteem pyramiding in order on top of each other, with
self-actualization at the apex.
These needs may be seen simply as human requirements. When
these needs are met then the person is satisfied. Coveting occurs when a person
longs for something more than what can be construed as basic needs. Jesus said
God knows everybody's needs and simply asks that people acknowledge him:
Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen
do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember,
your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
9“Pray along these
lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. 10We ask that
your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is
in heaven. 11Give us our food again today, as usual, 12and
forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
13Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.
Amen.’ 14-15Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those
who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will
not forgive you (Matthew 6:7-15).
In this prayer (which is not to be recited by rote, as so
many people tend to do), we find a guideline of how we ought to think and
expect God to meet our basic requirements for our physical needs, our safety
needs, our social needs, our needs for self esteem and what Maslow sees as
self-actualization.
In asking God to give us our food to meet our current
physiological needs, we can assume that this also means give us the strength to
carry out our daily activities that are of a physical nature and within the
guidelines that you have laid down for our benefit. To go beyond these
guidelines means we are coveting something that is not rightfully ours or is
not meant for us to have.
Safety needs are clearly met when we live in the confidence
of knowing that we belong to the kingdom of God and not of the kingdom of this
world. The god of this world has no hold over us, if we are abiding in the
kingdom of God. Citizens' rights are afforded those who identify with living in
the kingdom of heaven. This means that God will provide all who call upon his
name with an assurance of those rights and a sense of security with the
knowledge that they are safe within the rock of salvation.
Social needs are indicated by the concept of forgiveness.
Within every relationship there is a need to be forgiving and accepting or as
is sometimes expressed, "Every person has a need for unconditional
acceptance." Unforgiveness is the one thing that prevents people from
being able to get on together socially. If everybody is forgiving, even two
egomaniacs, who only see the world from their own point of view, would get
along with each other, because they would forgive the other for having such a
narrow point of view, and being ignorant of the truth their own opinion is not
really fact. In other words, tolerance of each other's superiority would reign,
rather than pride, so friendship, attachment, and intimacy would be very much a
part of the relationship, just as if they were family.
Self-esteem needs are met when people appreciate each other.
To appreciate another person, one needs to have a sense of individuality, and
this only comes when specific rights are realized. This flows out of
relationships, where recognition of the other person's contributions is
acknowledged. People who are praised for what they have done have a better self-image
and more self-confidence than those who do not receive appropriate praise.
Self-esteem does not mean to be selfish or egotistical; rather it means to have
an appropriate appreciation of one's own abilities to contribute to a
relationship. So by not being tempted to think of ourselves beyond what we are
capable of doing, we do not fall prey to the evil one and covet a right or
privilege or position that is not given to us freely by another.
Self-actualization is evidenced when we do the will of God
and allow God's thoughts to become our thoughts, rather than the thoughts of
destruction. Knowing the will of God is of great benefit to all. God knows more
than you and as you learn to do God's will, you will start to become wise, make
right choices and demonstrate that you have a hatred of evil and a love of
life. Evil occurs when we break faith with God and this is the source of
self-destruction, which just happens to be the antithesis of
self-actualization. Self-actualization occurs when you come to a realization of
life, and all its abundance, as an individual who is fully satisfied, having
all your desires met in the now. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
What Maslow has observed to be human needs, Jesus has
already expressed in a different form in what is known as the Lord's prayer.
Not to acknowledge this is to deny yourself the very things that you desire
most: fulfillment in life. When you desire to know what God knows and understand
the reasons why God has allowed us to live on this earth, you will not be
coveting anything other than wanting to know the how you can fulfill your
potential in life. This is not accomplished when you are lusting after
something that is not yours, or is not meant for you. God has given you a free
will to come and reason out with him what it is you can do and where you stand
in relation to the universe around you and your purpose in life. This is what
God desires, so you will achieve the fullness of your potentiality as a
sentient being, who has been given god-likeness.
In the book of James we find a very simple truth:
12Blessed is the
man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the
crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13Let
no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted
by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted
when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death (James 1:12-15).
This commandment is at the heart of all the other
commandments. You could say the tenth commandment is cloaked by the other
commandments. This is because when you are allowing God to met all your needs
and desiring to know him, there is no temptation to envy someone else and start
coveting, This way you do not allow the evil one any room in your heart There
is no one else to blame, because when you take your eyes off what God would
have you become, and have you do, in the process, you will be tempted by what
you see, just like Eve was tempted by what she saw in the Garden of Eden, and
disobeyed the commandment of God by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil. Her desire allowed her to be enticed away from the true God to believe
the lie of the false god, who through her got to Adam and then through Adam,
every other member of the human race, including yourself . As a consequence of
Adam’s disobedience and Eve being deceived, you are born into this world which
is governed by sin and hypocrisy rather than righteousness and integrity.
The tenth commandment instructs us to learn from God and
allow our hearts to be focused on truth, so that we might set a course of
discovery and adventure as we grow in grace and knowledge of what is right to
do and model ourselves on positive ideas that prove to be fruitful and
beneficial for all concerned. Coveting what does not belong to us allows us to
lose control of our faculties and becoming futile in our thinking. As Jesus
implied, if our eyes are full of light, we will be of a sound mind and possess
a happy state of being, because we will actually become who we are meant to be
and what everyone really desires deep within, a fully-fledged child of God who
has been approved of God as a person who has no need to be ashamed, because our
works have been worked out in the light of the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. So take the opportunity to seek, so that you will find. Take the
opportunity to ask, so you will receive. And take the opportunity to knock, so
the door of life will be opened to you; for all things are possible for you;
only believe and do not doubt!
(c) 2007 Happy Riches
*****
What It All Means
Some people like to believe that the Decalogue (the ten words) that was delivered by Moses has been taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or Hammurabi's Code of Laws from Babylon. The reason they say this, apart from the fact they do not want to accept the truth, is there are many similarities in the codes of behavior stipulated in those documents and what Moses delivered. From the outset, it is obvious that if people are going to live together, and are disinclined to love each other, laws are needed to bring about justice and define what is acceptable behavior. This way there is no excuse for people committing crimes, and there are no arbitrary decisions made that are unjust and favor certain people over others; as is evidenced today when celebrities, politicians, and powerful businessmen get more lenient punishment for their criminal behavior than other mortals possessing less status.
The one striking feature that distinguishes the Mosaic
Covenant over these other codes is that the civil laws are also treated as a
covenant between man and God, not just man and man. People like to distinguish
between religious and civil aspects of the Mosaic Covenant, but these laws were
provided to the Israelites under a theocracy, not a monarchy like the other
nations at the time. More than this, the laws delivered by Moses were of a
prophetic nature and incorporated promises that are not evidenced in the other
codes. For instance, none of these other codes have a requirement that all
people are to circumcise their heart. But this is a requirement for every
person who calls himself, or herself, an Israelite, a Jew, and even a
Christian. Search any other sacred religious scripture and you will not find
this. But it is written in the Bible.
What many Christians fail to realize is the significance of
the Mosaic covenant overall in relation to prophecy and the way they are to
conduct themselves. In many respects, it is common sense that if you want to
have friends, you do not steal from people, bear false witness against them,
commit adultery with their husbands and wives, or murder any of them. Just
these four prohibitions should be sufficient for people to live in a civil
community and show the respect towards each other as human beings. Instead,
people commit murder, bear false witness against each other, steal from one
another, and commit adultery on a wholesale basis. The reasons for
this are often minimized in today's society because the person committing
the offense was drunk, or was high on drugs at the time, and was not really in
control of his or her faculties. If the reason for committing these offenses is
not mitigated by substance abuse, it is mitigated by emotional or physical or
sexual abuse, or from parental neglect as a child. If certain instances, even
ethnic culture is proffered as an excuse for delinquent behavior and considered
sufficient reason for a lack of responsibility or any need to be held to
account.
When people talk of punishment today, they often use the word
"discipline". Punishment may be a part of the discipline process, but
discipline goes beyond punishment. Discipline also incorporates teaching,
modeling and training. What is construed as punishment can be used as a
negative motivator to point people to the advantages of being trained correctly,
but it is only a part of the disciplinary process.
Negative motivators can be physical or emotional. Negative
physical motivators can be deprivation of physical needs, like drink or food or
sleep, or the requirement of extended effort in the form of additional exercise
regimes, or performing additional cleaning chores, or spending more time in
less preferred locations, like at school or doing laborious activities or
sentry duty. Negative emotional motivators can be the loss of a simple pleasure
such as some type of drink, food, clothing, outing, privilege or other pleasure
that does not physically deprive a person of any basic need, but creates a
feeling of loss rather than the pleasure of a reward.
Positive motivators can be competition or personal goal
setting. Competition can be used as an effective motivator in many pursuits,
but it has negative connotations. The reason for competitions having a negative
connotation is every competition has to have a winner and at least one loser,
with the loser not feeling as positive about losing as what the winner feels
about winning, and this lays down the basis for bad attitudes forming that not
only can be detrimental to the relationship between the winner and the loser,
but can overflow into other relationships and manifest as egotism or
resentfulness. Goal setting, on the other hand, is positive in every way
because there is no competition. Goal setting is merely using time to challenge
yourself. If you rate yourself, rate yourself against time and do not compare
your efforts with anyone else; instead, enjoy the rewards you gain from
improving your productivity or gains by achieving your goals more quickly.
Everybody is born into this world governed by time, so time
is the one thing that we tend to measure our existence against. Time is common
to everyone and has nothing to do with height, size, strength, color, or looks.
Therefore, there is no need to compare ourselves with other people when we are
using time as a frame of reference. It is true that not all things are
conducive to using time as the means by which something can be compared, but
when we are talking about character development and many activities, time is a
useful measure, and personal goal setting is the means by which
self-improvement can be measured. Just being here is measured by time, so why
not make use of that time for a positive purpose, rather than be like animals
that eat, drink, procreate, fight with each other and die. There is more
to measure with time than the length of time you have been here on Earth, or
how long it takes for you to lose the vigor and attractiveness of your youth
and become wrinkled, frail and weak. For instance, you can set to achieve for
yourself targets regarding fitness in terms of strength, endurance, and agility.
These can be measured by using time, as well as other criteria, but there is no
need to compare yourself with someone else.
In respect to the Ten Commandments and personal behavior you
can also set goals. Again, we are not talking about goals where you compare
yourself with other people, but personal goals. You can first of all memorize
the Ten Commandments in their complete form and develop an understanding
of what they mean. You can give yourself a goal by which you can achieve this.
When you have a thorough grasp of what the Ten Commandments mean, you will not
be congratulating yourself, but you will become busy with establishing your
purpose here on Earth. This is because in knowing the Ten Commandments you will
realize how much of a sinner you are before God. You will realize how much you
have sinned against other people and your need for forgiveness. When you see
how much you have sinned against other people, you find it easier to forgive
others for the sins they have committed against you.
Having a sound knowledge of the Ten Commandments will not
turn you into a spiritually proud person. You will become more humble rather
than proud. You will know what sin is and what the consequences of sin are. You
will also know what you can expect of God and what God expects of you. The
reason for this is that to understand the Ten Commandments means you need to
have an understanding of life and why you were born, and what entitlements are
yours as a result of being here on earth. This is why the Ten Commandments are
a guide to honor, riches and life.
When you study the lives of people who achieve anything in
life, you will learn that the one thing they all had that enabled them to
achieve their personal goals was discipline. Without being personally disciplined
you are unable to achieve anything. Discipline always requires sacrificing one
thing for another. Just as a student sitting examinations needs to
sacrifice hanging out with friends for diligent study, or an athlete needs to
sacrifice television to acquire fitness and skills as part of being successful,
so, too, everyone needs to sacrifice the temporary pleasures of sin for the
everlasting pleasures of keeping faith with God.
Keeping faith with God is the same as keeping faith with
people, except that the level of appreciation is greater. God will do more for
you than what another person is capable of doing. This stands to reason because
people are mere mortals who, like animals are born, grow bigger, mature, bear
offspring and then die, whereas God is immortal, ever-present, all-knowing and
all-powerful. Having God on your side basically means all your problems are
over. Really, you only have one problem in life, and that is how you are going
to overcome death. Once you have established your relationship with God, this
is solved and then it is just a matter of keeping faith. It is just that
simple. But, as Jesus said, the way to life is narrow and few it is that find
it. Compared to this, the highway to hell is a multi-lane freeway with no speed
limits.
To keep the Ten Commandments and not break them at one point
is possible. Jesus did this. Even John, The Baptist did this up until the Holy
Spirit left him and doubt entered his mind. The difference between Jesus and
John The Baptist is John had a human father, whereas Jesus did not. The blood
of Jesus was the actual blood of God and not human blood. The blood of Jesus is
not what enabled him to keep the Ten Commandments without breaking them once.
Jesus kept the commandments because he chose not to sin. Among the attributes
of Jesus were his hatred of evil and his fear of what sin could do. Once you
realize what sin can do to you, you will try to avoid it as much as possible.
In fact, you will find yourself seeking God to help you to resist committing
sin and harboring grudges against other people and contemplating evil thoughts.
The Bible is quite clear that if you resist the devil and draw near to God, you
will be rewarded. All who endeavor to keep the Ten Commandments have to draw
near to God, for it impossible to do so otherwise. Actually, all who draw near
to God will find themselves keeping the Ten Commandments. However, if you do
not know the Ten Commandments, you will not know what sin is. If you do
not know what sin is, then you will not be able to repent of your wicked ways
and draw near to God. Once you begin looking to God, and calling upon him to
reveal yourself to you, then you will become more aware of sin and how it can
cut you off from having a relationship with God.
The one thing that will begin to stand out to other people as
you develop your relationship with God is your changed life. You will find
yourself having a different attitude towards life. You will have a different
attitude towards people. Instead of begrudging in your heart what they have or
deserve, or what you think they should not have or do not deserve, you will
find yourself wishing them well. You will find yourself being less covetous of
the world's goods and more inclined to experience a richer relationship with God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. People will find that you tend to be
more considerate than what you were previously. You will exude a joy and have
inner-peace when there is trouble brewing and other people are either upset or
afraid. You will be willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and tend
to wait to see what emerges out of a situation rather than jumping to
conclusions. You will find that you are more forgiving and generous than what
you might have been previously. You will also find that people will begin to
notice that you are even more faithful, more focused, and more productive than
before you had an encounter with God. In time, you will become more humble and
be renowned as a person who exercises self-restraint and can be trusted to keep
confidence on a social level. You will be honored by other people because your
life will bear the stamp of God's approval.
You might think that this sounds like fairy-tale stuff or
very boring. But have you ever noticed that everybody is seeking these benefits
in one way or the other. Also, you will find it is an adventurous journey of
self-discovery. Instead of having to risk the dangers of climbing Mt Everest
and not getting any real eternal benefit from your efforts, the more you seek
God, the more you will begin to understand the other features of the universe
in which you live; especially those features you may not have noticed before.
Oddly enough, some people do not believe that angels exist,
yet they believe bacteria exist, and viruses exist, and smaller molecules exist
than what they can see with their naked eye. As a rule of thumb, bacteria is
said to be one thousand times smaller than a human hair cell and a virus cell
is one hundred times smaller than a bacterium. The human eye is said to have
difficulty recognizing a one single hair cell, let alone any other smaller
cells. Yet people believe these cells exist without having seen them. This is
because people have been conditioned to believe that what scientists say is
true, and there is evidence that these things exist even if they cannot be
seen. But when it comes to angels or spiritual beings or influences, this is
rejected, because there is no scientific proof. However, unless you are working
in a laboratory and have access to the technology that enables you to see
bacteria, viruses, and the elements of an atom such as protons and neutrons,
you have no proof they exist, you are relying on the reports of other people.
There is no difference when it comes to angels. The same kind of belief system
is required.
When you speak, you cannot see the words you are saying; you
can hear them. Scientific investigations have discovered how this works, and
today, many people who were born deaf have been able to experience the
privilege of being able to hear, as a result of the invention of the bionic
ear. Sound waves are not seen by the human eye. Still we learn how to
distinguish various sounds and respond to them. The means by which we do this
seemly simple task of hearing is complex. Sounds also produce chemical
responses in our body. But chemicals do not emit sound waves that have meanings
to humans. Humans do this as an expression of thought. This thought in the form
of sounds that can be detected by the bionic ear. It just so happens
that the inventor of the bionic ear, Professor Graeme Clark, is a Christian who
sees no difference in being able to apply science to faith. For Professor
Clark, proving God requires an element of faith, the same as producing a
hypothesis requires a degree of faith in its construction.
The idea of faith is at the basis of everything that humans
do. Faith is the conviction and assurance of the unseen existing. You cannot
see sound, but you are convinced it exists because you hear it and this
produces a electrical and chemical response in your body. Faith is more than a
sound because it requires knowledge that goes beyond electrical and chemical
responses in your body and enters the realm of consciousness.
Consciousness is the realm of beings who have the ability to
understand the reasons why they are responding to sound, sight, touch, taste
and smell. Animals and plants may demonstrate what appears to be an awareness
of the existence sound, smell, taste, touch and sight through stimulation of their
senses, but they are not consciously able to describe the interaction that
happens between them and what they encounter. Humans are able to do this, and
faith appears to be at the heart of this ability.
Faith is how humans act on knowledge. You cannot exercise
faith without knowledge. However, you will have already exercised faith in
various capacities, and on many occasions. You may not know you have exercised
faith, but you do it every day. You do not need to have much understanding of
the process of how to exercise faith. Just as you do not need any understanding
how to breathe, you just do it as a matter of fact. Faith works like this:
every night you go to sleep, you do so with the belief that you will wake up.
It is by faith that you allow yourself to go to sleep, because you do so with
the knowledge that people go to sleep and wake up. If you think about the times
you have gone to sleep in a strange place, you would have needed to exercise a
degree of faith. This is even more so the case when you go to sleep in the
presence of other people. You do this with the belief that they will not harm
you while you sleep. The reason for this is you know that there are
consequences for those who harm you while you sleep, so you put your faith in
the law of the land being upheld, and the knowledge that people's fear of being
punished in accordance to the law of the land will prevent them from committing
some criminal act that violates your personal rights.
Without knowledge, you cannot exercise faith. By understanding
the process, you will be able to exercise faith more effectively. There is no
real difference between growing in knowledge that enables you to exercise more
faith in God and growing in knowledge that enables you to become a more skilled
engineer or tradesman. The difference, of course, is when we are talking about
faith in God and becoming more skilled as a tradesman, faith in God requires us
to venture out into the unknown, whereas a tradesman will have performed the
same task many times. The faith element for the skilled tradesman occurs
when he has to apply those same skills in a slightly different situation. A
degree of faith is required. Each improvement in skill gained by the tradesman
is accomplished by steps of faith. These steps are all based on knowledge, only
most people do not realize that a degree of faith is required in the
improvement process.
Faith towards God is different towards having faith based on
one's previous accomplishments. This is because the realm of faith in God is
based on things that are not readily seen. Nonetheless, the process is still
the same. You can only advance in faith towards God at one step at a time.
Faith in God is based on knowledge, and you need to have a basis to exercise
faith towards God in the first place. The book of Hebrews, chapter eleven,
states:
Without faith it impossible to please God, for whoever would
seek God must first believe that the Eternal One exists and rewards those who
seek him.
While there is a difference between accepting that God exists
and that your parents exist, both require knowledge. If you reject the
knowledge that suggests there is a Creator, then you will not be able to
exercise faith towards God. In chapter three of the book of Hebrews, we are
told the reason the Israelites who came out of Egypt did not receive the
promise provided by God is because the word of God did not meet with faith in
them. These people simply did not believe that the values God gave them through
Moses were worthwhile keeping. The values we are talking about are the Ten
Commandments. The Ten Commandments speak about God and relationship. But many
of the people did not accept these to be valid; probably, because like so many
intellectuals today, people like to think that the Ten Commandments are just
some man-made version of some existing rules or regulations that had been
created by some pharaoh in Egypt.
Jesus made the point that if people did not believe what
Moses wrote, they would not believe in what he had to say. In large part, this
is to do with the Ten Commandments. Because if a person does not believe that
the Ten Commandments are valid as a guide for living, then they will not
believe that God can raise the dead. Without a moral compass it is impossible
to believe in the Creator God. The moral compass is the very thing that
provides us with knowledge that there has to be a Creator who will judge people
according to their deeds. Knowledge of right and wrong is the very thing that
enables people to have faith in God. It is one thing to think of a Creator
having created the heavens and the earth, but this leads into questions of who
created the creator. However, when you start thinking about what is right to do
and what is wrong, then the idea of judgment suggests that there has to be a
judge. It is when you start thinking how you will stand before this judge, or
the reasons why you should be judged in the first place, that enable you to
believe that God exists as judge of all the people on Earth.
A sense of morality enables everyone to have faith in values
that cannot be seen. Morality is the very thing that enables you to have faith
in God. You cannot see God, but you believe the unseen exists. To believe in
God is to believe in the unseen, and to believe in such things as love, hope,
goodwill and trust. Everybody has a degree of morality. Even among criminals
there are unwritten codes of what is an acceptable form of conduct. Only most
people do not agree that murder or stealing is acceptable conduct, whereas
criminals might not have any compunction about committing those crimes, which
are essentially a breaking of the Ten Commandments. Yet criminals might
consider breaking particular criminal codes of secrecy as a worse offense. This
just goes to show that humankind has an inbuilt ability to distinguish what is
acceptable behavior and what is not. But even thieves are known not to steal
from each other, and murders know that there are limitations to who they can
murder before they themselves are killed. Life has its sanctity even among murders
and criminals.
Morality can be distorted. People can develop what Freud
called a "superego". A superego is in effect a false conscience. This
is because a superego is not based on what we can call the internal recognition
of right and wrong, but on cultural mores of what is right or wrong. For
instance, it is not moral for a Sikh male to take off his turban in public and
let his hair down. One Sikh, whom I know, did this and felt very guilty about
having done so. In fact, this twenty-eight year old Sikh became very anxious
about his parents discovering that he had dishonored this religious tradition.
This is the facility of superego at work and not the inner recognition of right
and wrong that naturally originates from the spirit, which is placed by the
Creator in every human. Other ways morality can be distorted is when people put
higher values on trees and animals than human life. When people start creating
artificial values and developing a false conscience, they lose their belief in
God as their Creator, the Judge of all humankind, who will call everyone into
account for what they have done in their lives. People might profess religious
practices, but they become caught up in false beliefs, like counting beads, or
repeating certain phrases over and over again in the hope they this will bring
them forgiveness for sins.
Contrary to what many people think, the Ten Commandments are
about liberation and knowing how to take responsibility for you own actions in
life. If you do not know how to do something, then you are in need of a
teacher. If you learn fables and untruths and believe in them, this will be
reflected in your lifestyle. If you learn truth you will be set free from
ignorance and fear. This is a known scientific premise and it also applies to having
a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Scientists have not yet been
able to work out how the universe is held together. They have theories, but
that is all. They have no demonstrable truth. Yet the Bible says that the
universe is held together by the power of the Word of God. Likewise,
relationships are also held together when people adhere to the Ten Commandments
and understand their limitations. When the Ten Commandments are broken, then
relationships are fractured. Fractured relationships lead to hurting
individuals, and the science of psychology has discovered that the reason why
people do more harmful acts to others and themselves is because they are
fractured souls who are thrashing around as a consequence of their internal
hurt. When people are in pain, unless they understand the reason why they are
in pain, there is little they can do to overcome their internal agony.
Knowledge liberates people because it enables people to overcome obstacles and
make sense of their environment.
You might still think that the Ten Commandments are of no
value. But when you consider each one of them and ask yourself whether you
would like people to violate them in respect to yourself, your answer would not
be an enthusiastic "Yes!" This is where the idea of "do not do
to others what you would not have them do to you" comes from. The Ten
Commandments give you knowledge of this. But they go further, because while
five of the commandments have a direct reference to humans only, and the
commandments about honoring your parents and keeping the Sabbath both have
references to God and humans, the first three commandments specifically refer
to your relationship with God.
The fifth commandment states that if you honor your parents,
God will give you an inheritance. The fourth commandment says you are to keep
God's Sabbath which began from the day the Creation of the Universe and
humankind was finished, but you must not exploit other people who work for you
by not letting them have rest from their labors too. The third commandment
points out that God will hold you accountable for your actions that bring
contempt to His Name, while the second commandment expresses how God is
prepared to forgive you, even though you have been judged as guilty of sin. The
first commandment is really about you being set free from the effects of having
been born into this world and accepting that God is worthy of your utmost
devotion.
The Ten Commandments are about understanding yourself and
understanding life. They are a succinct mnemonic of the deeper meaning for life
and your reason for existing on this earth. If you memorize them and understand
what they mean, then you will only be better off for them. If there are no road
rules then people will have difficulty negotiating intersections. The laws of
the road were brought into being so people would not endanger themselves but be
able to drive safely by keeping to the laws that have been legislated for each
one's benefit. You might think that they are unnecessary at times. But if they
did not exist, then people would be not only be having accidents but road rage
would prevail and everybody would be at war with one another, and nobody would
be able to drive to work or deliver food and goods without an army. Basically,
civilization would self-destruct and democratic societies, which have
people living peaceably within communities, would become desolate zones that
are seen in countries where dictators takeover and pillage the population for
their own benefit. God could act like a dictator too, but he has given everyone
a choice to do what they would like to do. Tragically, not everyone wants to
understand the reasons why we are here on earth and people too often only think
of themselves, without considering their brother or sister or relatives or
friends, and goodwill turns to evil intent. Understanding the Ten Commandments
changes this.
The Ten Commandments should be taught in every school.
Instead of teaching children the Ten Commandments and what they mean for social
interaction, these are discarded. The consequence is that children grow older
with false perceptions of "anything goes as long as I do not get
caught". And even if I do get caught, I was going to die anyway. But since
God does not exist, I have no need to give an account of my actions here on
earth. Others simply do not want to die just yet and hang on in the hope that
scientists might get a breakthrough and discover the formula for eternal life.
The irony is the formula for eternal life is to be found in the very Ten Words
that God gave a man called Moses, some fifteen hundred years before the birth
of Jesus Christ. Not only do these ten words provide protection and hope, they
are also the ladder by which each child that is born has to climb as a part of
their natural development towards maturity as a human being, which is another
reason why the Ten Commandments are superior to anything other rule or
regulation that has been created by any human.
If government authorities and politicians and rulers really
want to make a difference to society, understanding the Ten Commandments would
become the priority, and then everyone will be able to enjoy the life in all
its richness.
If
you want to communicate with me, try my blog at
http://happy-riches.blogspot.com/
(c) 2007 Happy Riches
Copyright . Happy Riches. All rights reserved.
