REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

Western society today seems to assume that our desires are usually good. “If you want it, it must be good.” But the Bible has a very different assessment of our condition. Ever since Genesis 3, our desires have been fundamentally disordered.

With that in mind, let’s look at the last of the Ten Commandments:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)

Many people think that the Old Testament law was only concerned with outward obedience, and that Jesus introduced a new kind of righteousness of the heart. You can only think that if you stop before the last commandment. Most of the commandments are about what we do – “You shall not murder,” etc. But the Tenth Commandment takes us back to the source of our actions: the thoughts, attitudes, and desires of our hearts.

Jesus explained the way that sinful deeds come from sinful desires:

21 “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23)

Both the Tenth Commandment and Jesus himself hold the highest possible standard up before us: God wants us to have desires and impulses that honour him and honour others. Living a life devoted to God means…

• not fantasising about another person’s spouse,

• not feeling jealous of someone because of their job or salary,

• not feeling bitter and angry because of the car or house or clothes or holidays that another person can afford that you would love to have,

• not imagining and toying with the idea of sin in your mind.

But … how do you obey that? It seems challenging, to say the least. For the Apostle Paul, the commandment “You shall not covet” was the one which convinced him that he was a sinner (see Romans 7:7-12).

Once again, the gospel is the answer. It brings us very good news about God’s grace in Jesus – good news that moves us to strive with all our might. God announced that good news long before Jesus, through the prophets. He promised that one day he would transform the corrupt and covetous hearts of his people. Through Jeremiah, God promised to put his law in our minds and write it on our hearts, because he would forgive our sins (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Through Ezekiel, God promised to give his people a new heart and a new spirit to obey him (Ezekiel 36:24-28).

Jesus is the fulfilment of those promises. If you trust in him, he really has put his law in your heart. He has given you his Spirit, who has implanted in you a new impulse to love God and love your neighbour.

You might doubt that sometimes – after all, the old, covetous “you” is still there, in your fleshly body. That’s why there is a battle inside us, and it’s why we need to strive to put to death the old. But imagine how much further away from holy living you would be if you didn’t know Christ! The fact that we do long to be rid of the desires that wage war against our souls shows that God’s Spirit is at work. And God’s grace and love in Jesus motivates us to strive, not desperately but with hope and confident assurance. In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul says.

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)

In week 2, we saw that true freedom isn’t just being able to do whatever I want. It’s being able to do what God wants, by his grace and power. But we can go one better: True freedom is both wanting and doing what is good and pleasing to God. What a comfort it is to know that God is the one who is working in you to produce both wanting and the doing! So keep striving.

As we finish today: What is the positive opposite of coveting? I think the answer is: contentment! Here’s a great verse to memorise:

But godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)

If you belong to God through faith in Jesus; if he has claimed you for himself and made you holy; if your future is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), then you are unspeakably rich.

So today, bring the desires and impulses of your heart to God. I’m sure you know which desires in your heart most need the ongoing grace and power of God. Seek to be content by remembering that Christ is your treasure. Ask God to fill “the bottle” of your mind with Christ and his grace, and the eternal riches of knowing him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.