Confidence 5

Exodus 20:15-17

One of the most difficult issues I have to cope with is deceit. I am very upset whenever someone tells a lie or is underhanded in their dealings with others. It is a big part of who I am to be as honest and open as I possibly can at all times.

The Ten Commandments conclude with three more laws from God that address how we deal with one another. What are we NOT to do? What is your understanding of what it means to "covet" something?

So often people who make reference to the Ten Commandments will say that one of the commandments is that we should never lie. While I would agree that lying should not be part of who we are or what we do, I think it may be an over-simplification of what is being commanded by God.

We are not to steal; that is, we are not to take things that do not belong to us. We are also not to give false testimony against others. This seems to go deeper than simply telling a fib.

To steal and give false testimony, to covet what others have, is a much deeper problem than simply taking and lying. These three commandments seem to me to be addressing an overall attitude. We should not deliberately and willfully bring about problems for others around us.

We should not take away from what others have managed to gather for themselves. We should not work to establish falsehoods that will cause problems for others. We should not desire what others have so much that it consumes us with envy and causes us to want harm to befall others.

Coveting what others have is more than just wishing we had more or desiring to have what others may have. It seems to be more of an attitude of willful destruction, a desire to take away and cause harm.

While we may claim that we always obey the Ten Commandments, there are many who present the façade of being righteous when in our hearts we still covet and deceive so that we may improve our status. The Ten Commandments taken as a whole seem to address the need for us to keep God at the center of who we are and for us to live peacefully with others.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be certain you are living out all ten of God’s commandments?