Number ten...

And so we come to the final one in the list of our Big Ten.  Some will say that it is at the end, and that means it carries less weight than the prior nine, but I would disagree vehemently on that particular suggestion.  You see, we are simply incapable of keeping any of these perfectly (or at all, if you want to be really honest), but this tenth one... I think you'll see in a moment just how easy it is to violate.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's."

Exodus 20:17

The simple message is not to covet.  Coveting something means that you want it... badly.  And, drawing upon previous discoveries of who counts in the classification of "neighbour," we all fall short of this one.  I say this, because we walk into someone's home and think, "Man, I'd love to have a house like this."  That is coveting.  We see or admire something in someone else's spouse and think, "Gosh, I wish my spouse was more like that."  That is coveting.  We look upon people who have more help, whether at home or at work, and think, "I wonder when I will get to that level and have the extra help for myself."  That is coveting.  Or we walk into that same house and see some item, any item, and think, "I really wish I had one of those."  That, too, is coveting.

This one is easy to break, because we refer to our thoughts in this manner as future planning or dreaming big or something of that sort.  That keeps us from feeling bad about the fact that we are literally perpetuating the idea that we should keep up with the Whoever-This-Is's that we are visiting.  And while we say that we are not covetous, and that we merely "saw something that we liked," the reality of it goes much, much deeper than that: we are not content with what we have currently.

So I'll pose to you a thought, and stop me if you've heard it before.  There was this guy who was leading this group of people around, and nothing that they had satisfied them.  Their shelters weren't enough, the food and water wasn't enough, the journey took too long, etc., and they were on their way to the greatest place they could ever have imagined!  However, since they were never content in their situation, they saw it as decrease in their expectation... and subsequently, their entire generation was told flatly that they would not see the destination.  Know this story yet?  Grumbling and groaning, always saying things like, "You should have left us there to die... at least then we wouldn't be out here with nothing," the Israelites refused to acknowledge that God was providing for them every step of the way.  And those complainers, coveting both what they left (which was slavery, so that says a lot) and what they were headed towards (without even having seen it before) all died before reaching their promised land.

Contentment, like the rest of the ideas before it, is a matter of the heart.  And I think that if we (especially my own generation, who are known to seek out the bigger-better-faster-stronger) would take a second and really count all the blessings we have, we might just see some contentment in our own situations.  Sure, we could have more money or a nicer house or a better job... but who really governs all of those things?  What you study/work to become determines a lot of those factors, as does how you handle your money.  It would stand to reason, therefore, that the fault in not having those things that we covet is our own, would it not?

I'm taking stock today, right now, and giving thanks for the things I have.  I am not looking forward, because no man can know the future.  I am not looking back, because the past is done and gone.  I am looking at right now, today, what God has entrusted me with.  And I think that if I honor Him in the way that I should with the things I currently have, then I will find more contentment than I could imagine.  And the things I have may be increased by Him if He chooses to do so; they may also be decreased, if He so chooses.  But, whether up, down or at current level, I ask you all to join me today in giving abundant thanks for all the things that are blessings in our lives... right down to the very beating of your heart and the air you breathe.

God bless you all!!!