9/9/18 The 10 Commandments Part 10 of 10 "Thou shall not covet…" As I thought about the commandments, I usually put coveting in its own special category because it seemed different to me. This sin took place in the heart. It was the command whose battleground was unseen by everyone else. But I also saw it as the command that makes us aware of perhaps the most powerful of all sinful urges, because coveting in many ways, motivates all of the others to be broken.
But when I read Mark 7:17-23, Jesus paints another picture of coveting. Yes, coveting starts in the heart, but it doesn’t just sit there as an internal problem. He says, “…from within, out of the heart proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. This includes, “deeds of coveting”.
That’s quite the list of sin that originates from and proceeds out from the heart, all kinds of evil, actually. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
Which reminds me that there are DEEDS of coveting, they are just born in the heart, but they sure do become visible.
And it also reminds me that the next time someone says that you should follow your heart, you may want to think that one through a bit more.
{Jeremiah 17:9}
What would categorize as deeds of coveting? How do they show up in your life?
What problems do you see coming from people “following the heart”?
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