Over the last couple months I wrote about the 10 Commandments. It was a great experience dwelling on these verses in Exodus for an extended period of time. It was helpful for my life.
Below are all ten posts in one place. Take time to read one or all (or none, I guess) today.
Honor Your Parents to Maximize Joy
The 10th Commandment and the Green-Eyed Monster
There's one book that gives my son nightmares. He had a string of nightmares from this book and refuses to let us read it again. Perhaps this book should give us agitation, too.
It's The Berenstain Bears and the Green-Eyed Monster.
In the book Brother Bear gets a brand new bike with hand breaks and multiple speeds for his birthday. Sister Bear sees it and gets extremely jealous. Her parents tell her beware of the green-eyed monster of jealousy. That night she dreams an actual green-eyed monster convince her to steal Brother's new bike and she wrecks it. The next day she realizes that the bike is too big for her and that brother's old bike is perfect for her to move on to now that she's too big for her trike.
This children's story fairly adequately explains the 10th Commandment.
Not coveting makes the 10 Commandments. Coveting is the yearning to have the possession of another. Coveting is a heart issue and it made God's Top 10 list. But why? I believe it does because coveting disrupts our relationship with our community and with our God.
When we covet the things of others we bring an awkwardness into that relationship. We turn our heart away from happiness for them and toward wishing disaster upon them. When we covet we cannot truly be pleased that they have something we deem of value. We can't rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15) if we wish we had it instead of them.
Can you truly be fully happy for a friend who has the truck you can't afford? Can you really rejoice at the pregnancy of your former roommate when you're stuck in infertility? Can you celebrate the wedding of your brother when your last several relationships crumbled? Can you be happy for the good of others? If not, you have a coveting issue.
Do you even rejoice when others mourn the loss of their possessions because it relieves you of your jealousy?
In the Berenstain Bears book, Sister Bear should have been able to experience joy that her brother received a gift that gave him joy, but a covetous heart robbed her of that ability. She also robbed her parents of the joy of giving a good gift because they had to deal with her sin. Coveting spoils our relationships with others.
The root problem with coveting is that it accuses God of mismanagement. When we covet we tell God that His gift was delivered to the wrong address. When we covet we tell God, in our heart or out loud, He doesn't know how to do His job. Our coveting screams at our Heavenly Father that He doesn't really love us that much.
Think about The Berenstain Bears and the Green-Eyed Monster. If Sister had received the bike that Brother did she wouldn't have been able to use it. She was too small. She didn't even know how to ride a bike with training wheels yet, let alone a bigger bike. Mama and Papa bear got their children exactly what they needed and wanted at exactly the right time.
God is the perfect Father. He knows just who needs what and when. God knows His children better than they know themselves. God never neglects His adopted kids and never gives them less than the absolute best things for them at no less than the exact perfect moment.
Trust your Heavenly Father. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Don't buy the lies of the Green Eyed Monster today.
In this post we come to the 9th Commandment:
The Ten Commandments are God's laws that help us live in relationship with Him and each other. The 9th Commandment is definitely in the 'each other' portion. Alongside the honoring of parents, the prohibition against murdering and stealing and coveting, we find this command.
Yahweh commands that we not give false testimony, bear false witness, against our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? Well, those living around us; although Jesus amplified the idea of neighbor in the parable of the good Samaritan. So, let's just say: "Don't express false things about those you encounter in person, online or simply know about."
So, what does it look like to follow this command? I will examine three areas in which we must obey the 9th Commandment.
The most obvious reading of this is to not give false testimony against someone in a court of law. We can expand this into any situation where our testimony may affect the punishment of someone else.
The entire system of justice is based upon this commandment being followed. We can't have a functioning society if people can't generally be trusted to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the best of their recollection. In my country, when people fail to do this they can, and should, face jail time.
This commandment must be followed in a court-like setting no matter what. God was/is very understanding of our biases to manipulate justice and He won't stand for it. See what is written just verses apart:
Do not be untruthful out of a love of money or a hatred of those with great wealth. Simply tell the truth in court.
It's interesting to note that this very command was shattered in the unjust murder of Jesus Himself.
It's likely you will never place your hand on a Bible and swear to tell the truth in the presence of a judge. However, we all bear witness in the ever-growing court of public opinion. We seemingly have an insatiable desire to try suits of all kinds in this wild courtroom.
Passing along gossip or convicting people with little-to-no knowledge in the court of public opinion is wrong. We must resist the urge to testify in this courtroom, especially when we have no idea whether or not we might be breaking the 9th Commandment. We must resist entertaining accusations against our elders without multiple, truthful witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19)
By this I mean prejudices. How very often we pre-judge other human beings made in the image of God based upon false testimony from our own minds. From pre-judging the Southern draw or skin color or job title or nationality or political affiliation or church denomination or whatever... we give false testimony to ourselves that leads to false convictions in the court of our own mind. Any time we exercise prejudices we make a verdict based upon a false witness.
Be truthful witnesses. Christians, we should be known as speakers of truth. We should be known as witnesses of the truth, not givers of false testimony. Next time you're in a courtroom, think of this commandment. Next time you're a job reference, consider this command. Next time you hear a rumor, be wary of God's wrath.
Be truthful people today.
I doubt I could find someone, outside of the sociopaths club, that disagrees with this command. When I've written about the other commands I've written about how the Ten Commandments are in part designed as laws for a flourishing community. I don't have to twist your arm to convince you that not stealing is good for society.
The idea of private property is fundamental to a society that is to thrive and the key to private property is the prohibition of stealing.
Now I could spend time on the ways we steal, because we do. We might not shoplift, but we have all stolen company time (some of you are doing that right now while reading this). We've taken paperclips, printed papers... we've stolen.
But doing that is likely a waste of time.
The antithesis of stealing is not not stealing. Christians aren't called to simply not steal. Not stealing is the bare minimum. Not stealing is far better than stealing. Not stealing is necessary for a functioning community, but I believe we're called to do more than not steal.
The Christian's heart is so changed by the God of the universe that not only do they not steal, but they give generously. How tempted is the man that gives abundantly to steal? Giving not only is the opposite of stealing but it is an antidote to it. If it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), how much better is it to give than to steal! The woman who holds on to her own stuff loosely won't take the stuff of others. In fact, that person will be even be able to deal with their possessions being stolen.
You shall not steal; you shall give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7) today.
