KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES!
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
(Exodus 20:17)
If you have even seen small children in a nursery playing with toys, you know that they will compete with each other over each toy. The word "mine" becomes very noticeable. Sometimes the toy can be overlooked by a child for most of the day until another child picks it up and begins to play with it. Then the toy seemingly becomes attractive to the others.
Unfortunately, many of us grow into adulthood with that same mentality. "It may seem like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence." We want to keep up with the Joneses. We have a desire to have what we see others possessing. Perhaps it is a particular brand of car, or house, or other material thing. In the passage above, God realizes that covetousness can even extend to someone else's spouse. He makes it clear that such is go be avoided by including it as the 10Th Commandment.
First of all, there are negative consequences to coveting. They include debt; crime-incarceration; ruined marriages; and frustration. We go in debt to obtain something we cannot afford. We steal in order to get something that belongs to another. We commit adultery and ruin two marriages. And sometimes we are just frustrated because we believe that someone else is getting more than we are.
The Christian answer to covetousness is to be thankful with what God has blessed you with. He knows what you already have, and He knows what He has in store for your future. Trust Him to give you what you need. The Joneses may look like they are doing better than you are, but don't judge a book by it's cover. God has something special just for you!
