Do Not Covet
Deuteronomy 5:21 You shall not covet your neighbors wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
If your neighbor is anyone you meet, and you are not to covet anything your neighbor has... that about covers it. Do not covet! As the second sentence of this verse says, to covet is to desire what your neighbor has. Failure to follow this command can lead to violating many of the other commands relating to your fellow man. If you covet someone's wife, you may commit adultery. If you covet their land, you may murder. If you covet anything they have, you may end up stealing those possessions. Covetousness goes hand in hand with jealousy, and they change how people act toward one another and how they respect what others have. Great evils come from not controlling the desires of the heart.
What do we do when others succeed? Do we covet their award, their accolades? Do we get upset at them? If others get a new car, new clothes, glasses, hair style... Why are their new fads? Too often, we don't want to look out of place, or we desire what others will say, how "hip" or how fashionable we are. We must not seek such pride.
K and A, desire the things of the Lord. Desire more of him in your life. Forget chasing after the ways of the world. Seek to be acceptable to him. There is much talk about being your own person... who cares what others think. Yet, this too is not good. Instead of seeking acceptance from man, or from self, seek acceptance from God. It only matters what he thinks. When you earnestly desire him, you will become the apple of his eye. There you will find his protection and love. You will have everything you always wanted and more!
~Dad
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