A Calvin Theological Seminary Publication by Students & Alumni
Do Not Covet

Do Not Covet

We want what we don’t have

Since the dawn of time humanity has desired things that others have, or things that they are not allowed to have. All that it takes is to read the first three chapters of Genesis to recognize this fatal flaw. Although it’s difficult to imagine Eve feeling tempted to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, it would be fair to say that it didn’t take much arm twisting by the serpent to get her and Adam to cave.

Throughout the Old Testament, you find characters like Cain who desired the affirmation of God for his dirt worship (offering God the thing which he had cursed), Saul longed for the blessing that David had (and attempted to kill him on this account), Solomon desired that which God had instructed the people of Israel to never desire: to marry foreign women. 

We have a coveting problem

When we talk about “coveting”, I usually think about the commandment to “not covet thy neighbour’s wife or livestock” (Exodus 20:17). As a kid I remember being taught the meaning of coveting as materially inclined; meaning that I wasn’t allowed to be jealous of the house, family, toys, or cars that other people had in life.

But that is not the depth of the commandment

I have had many discussions with believers about calling, God’s provision, and the plan He has for his kids. Personally I have experienced the providence of God in a tangible way. First was being called to ministry in a city that I would later move to, yet would step out in faith trusting that God would give me work to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. On both faith exercises God provided a job and a place for me to call home without needing to do much leg work.

All of these things are only done by God’s benevolence

It is almost inevitable that some individuals will complain that “these other kids get everything handed to them on a silver platter” or “Why doesn’t God provide for me like that?”

Because your life will never be the same as others

And the difficulty for some is to long for what others have at the expense of praying for what God has for us It’s one thing to desire the convenience of a kitchen-aid pasta roller attachment for ones stand mixer (one thing I would like to have, yet can’t afford) or to desire a family. It’s another thing to desire to have the exact same things that God has ordained for others around you. The heart of the issue is dissatisfaction in the unique calling God has for each of us.

When we covet the blessing of others, we curse the call God has for us

What does this mean for us? It means that instead of looking at the blessing of others as a template and a prayer wishlist to ask God for, we must take a step back and think about what God has called each of us to do, and pray that God would foist us into the plan and purpose he has for each of us.

Long for the plot God plants you in

44,474 Comments

  1. I together with my guys happened to be following the best items found on your site and so quickly I got a terrible feeling I never thanked the web site owner for them. Those young boys were definitely so stimulated to learn them and already have seriously been loving those things. Thanks for turning out to be considerably helpful and for obtaining this kind of superb topics most people are really wanting to be informed on. Our own sincere regret for not expressing appreciation to sooner.

  2. I do not even know how I ended up right here, but I thought this post used to be great. I don’t recognise who you’re however certainly you’re going to a famous blogger for those who aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

  3. Hey would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re using? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a fair price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!

  4. I used to be very pleased to search out this net-site.I wanted to thanks on your time for this excellent learn!! I undoubtedly having fun with every little little bit of it and I’ve you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.

  5. Its such as you learn my mind! You appear to understand so much approximately this, such as you wrote the book in it or something. I feel that you could do with a few percent to force the message house a bit, however instead of that, this is excellent blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.

  6. Nice post. I be taught something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It would all the time be stimulating to read content from different writers and observe slightly something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my weblog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your internet blog. Thanks for sharing.

  7. Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same topics as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Wonderful blog by the way!

  8. Greetings! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  9. My husband and i felt absolutely peaceful when John could do his survey from the ideas he made through your web site. It is now and again perplexing just to be giving away methods that many other people might have been trying to sell. We consider we need the blog owner to be grateful to for that. The explanations you have made, the straightforward site navigation, the friendships your site give support to create – it’s got mostly great, and it is helping our son in addition to us believe that that subject is entertaining, which is very serious. Thank you for the whole thing!

  10. Great V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs as well as related information ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Excellent task..

  11. Hey there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you suggest a good hosting provider at a fair price? Thanks, I appreciate it!

  12. I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a good example of it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *