The Ten(der) Commandments: “Learning To Be Content”

Exodus 20:17

Today we are coming to the end of this sermon series on the Ten Commandments, and we have come a long way in this study. We’ve seen how the first four commandments teach us to put God first in our lives. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not create or bow down to any idols. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. You shall honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.” The last six teach us how to have solid relationships with one another: “Honor your father and mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Now we have come to the last commandment, the violation of which can lead us to break any of the other commandments. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

All of us are familiar with the scene. Our neighbor drives up one day in a brand new car. We can’t help but notice. That old Ford Taurus he had been driving was a respectable, but modest car. It made us feel comfortable. This new one, however, is another story. This classy car makes us feel uncomfortable. In fact, a new emotion begins to surface: envy. If he could get a new car, why not you? We resolve the problem a few days later by driving up in our driveway in a new car of our own. Problem solved. Now we feel better. Young people see a friend with the latest generation of smart phone or laptop and suddenly their own phone or computer seems hopelessly outdated. They simply have to get a new one!

If this scene seems familiar, it is because it is being played out everywhere across our nation. Think of all the advertising going on today seeking to create a desire in us for their product. If they can make us dissatisfied with what we have, they stand a better chance of selling us what they have. Whether we really need it or not is immaterial.

Deep down, we know that this is not right. In fact, the Bible teaches us to trust God to meet our needs and to be content. It is a hard lesson to learn, even for God’s children. Listen to how James addressed this issue to members of his own church: “What is causing quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them” (James 4:1-2a).

These church members were letting their desires get the best of them. They saw what others had and wanted it for themselves. That sort of envy and greed, when acted upon, causes all kinds of problems between people, and it was about to tear this church apart. No wonder Paul was concerned. Covetousness cheapens life. Don’t you think that God put you for far more than accumulating stuff? Weren’t you created for a nobler purpose than to simply run from one pleasure to another? Of course you were.

Covetousness never brings contentment. Instead we just get caught up in an endless cycle of craving bigger and better things. In perhaps the most counter-cultural statement of all time Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” That verse alone would totally alter the way we think and live if we truly believed it.

Jesus once encountered a young man who wanted to know how to have eternal life. Jesus said, “You know the commandments don’t you?” Jesus then listed commandments five through nine, stopping before he got to number ten, the prohibition against coveting. The young man said, “No problem. I’ve followed God’s commandments since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, said, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:21-22). He wasn’t willing to follow Jesus because the last commandment was too hard.

Covetousness will draw us away from God as well unless we are careful. We need to learn to be content. We must learn to appreciate what we have right now, and to trust God to meet our needs. Look at these words from 1 Timothy 6:6-10: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

Learn to be content. Be content with your spouse. Don’t look at another marriage and start wishing for more in yours. That leads to adultery. Don’t look at the tools or gadgets your neighbor has and then lay awake at night wondering why you can’t have the same. Simple gratitude for what we already have will protect us from a world of harm. Friends, we already have so much! There is no need to covet.

You and I can learn something about contentment from Paul. At one point in his life he was arrested for preaching about Jesus and was confined to a Roman dungeon. Almost all he had was now stripped away from him. If ever there was a temptation to covet it was now, for almost everyone had more than he did. Paul had time to write a letter to the church in Philippi during this time. Phil.4:11-13 gives us a glimpse of his attitude: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Don’t misuse this verse. Paul wasn’t saying that he could do anything through Christ. You can’t pray and then rush out and do brain surgery. His point was that he could experience any situation and still be content. He didn’t look at what others had and covet; rather, he looked at Christ and became content with what he had.

Contented people like Paul know that God has given them not only what they need, but also more than they deserve. Just look at what God has already done for you. God has given you life, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the health you enjoy. God has blessed you with forgiveness, salvation, and the promise of eternal life. God has given you your family, your friends, and so many other things that we take for granted.

Friends, God wants people who will place themselves in his arms. He wants people who are secure in his provision, trusting God to provide what they need. The choice between a covetous heart and a contented heart is ours today. Be content with what God has given you. Amen.