“You shall not Covet”
What does this mean?
“We are to fear and love God, so that we do not try to trick our neighbors to get their things for ourselves. Instead we should be of help and service to them in keeping what is theirs and urge them fulfill their responsibilities.”
-Martin Luther, Small Catechism
The 9th and 10th commandments are very similar. They both have the same first four words: You shall not covet. Last Sunday, Pastor Mike said that to covet meant to have a jealous desire of something or someone else. Jealousy is when we want something or someone so badly that it can lead to us resenting anyone else who has what we want. The desire part of coveting comes in when we want something so badly for ourselves that we will try to get it no matter the cost.
Coveting happens when we begin to feel that life is a zero sum game. That is, in order for one person to get ahead, someone else has to fall behind. When coveting shows up in our own lives it usually feels like, “my life is hurt when your life goes well.” When we covet other people’s things and lives, it begins to minimize our own blessings and maximize other people’s blessings. Social Media can create a space where we compare our blooper reel to other people’s highlight reels.
What effect can it have on us to compare the messy parts of our own lives to the best parts of other people’s lives? Continue reading