Monday, November 12, 2007

The password is...

Covet

The word "covet" most famously appears in the Ten Commandments, as the ninth and tenth. "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17) It's interesting to read that virtually all faiths have some version of the ten commandments, including these two commandments (which in some religions are combined into one). The Jewish interpretation is that "One is forbidden to desire and plan how one may obtain that which God has given to another." The Protestant faith "Enjoins contentment with our own condition, and a charitable attitude toward our neighbor and all that is his, being thankful for his sake that he has whatever is beneficial to him, as we are for those things that benefit us." It also "Forbids discontent or envy, prohibits any grief over the betterment of our neighbor's estate, and all inordinate desires to obtain for ourselves, or scheming to wrest for our benefit, anything that is his." The Mormons believe that "Coveting, or envying something that belongs to another, is damaging to the soul. It can consume our thoughts and plague us with constant unhappiness and dissatisfaction. It often leads to other sins and to financial indebtedness." The Koran states "...do not covet what we bestowed upon any other people. Such are temporary ornaments of this life, whereby we put them to the test. What your Lord provides for you is far better, and everlasting."

I'm not sure why some people seem to obsess over what others have. Keeping up with the Joneses is a foolish endeavor. We've all known people who buy a huge house in the best part of town, and then don't have the money to furnish it, or go into so much debt that they dig themselves a deeper and deeper credit hole. On the flipside, it's been my experience that those that protest the hardest about not really wanting anything are those that deep down crave it the most. Whether it's things, a home, property, education, or lifestyle in general, the more I hear "I don't need that," the more I really hear "You have that and I want it." Or worse yet, "You have that and I deserve it." It's also been my experience that when I went to church every Sunday as a kid, there were plenty of people like that there (not all, of course, but I encountered quite a few), and as the anonymous quote goes, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car." More power to you if you have found a church that you love. But please forgive me--isn't that what true Christians do?--if I find your behavior outside of church most decidedly un-Christian.

Perhaps a better way to put it would be from the Sermon on the Mount: "...by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20) What kind of fruit are YOU bearing?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay...ya crossed the line.  THIS is why MY children aren't reading blogs from folks who spout.....well....you know.

Anonymous said...

If your going to quote scripture, you might want to check this out:

Matthew 7:1
[ Judging Others ] "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

...and it goes on in Matthew 7:2 to remind us that WHEN we judge, our judgement of others will be the standard of measure by which WE WILL BE JUDGED.  And it further goes on to say that one might want to remove the log from their OWN eye before they go on to point out the spec in another's eye.

Luke 6:37
[ Judging Others ] "Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

I could go on and on and on.  When you choose to "attack" christianity, you choose to attack Christians.  I am one Christian who is not afraid to stand up and say "GET BEHIND ME SATAN!"  

Please, take only this then from my comment:  you cannot serve 2 gods; choose money, property, paycheck....or choose Him.  Bearing fruit?  You have to have branches to have fruit....got branches?  (I'll translate:  Open your arms to Him and see what forgivness, love and mercy mean.)

Anonymous said...

Let me look and see where I attacked Christians...oh yeah, NOWHERE.

Last I knew, the Bible was available to everyone to read, quote, or discuss as the case may be. It is not the domain of a chosen few.

And "GET BEHIND ME SATAN"? Seriously?

But thanks for reading.

Anonymous said...

Let me look and see where I said, or even hinted that, you can't/shouldn't read, discuss, quote the bible....OH yeah...NOWHERE.

I simply pointed out that you neglected to include the parts of Matthew that were apparently offensive to you, given that you are so quick to judge the actions of others.  You, being one who at some point in your life read the bible, yes?-can't much appreciate it when you're called on it.  It's ugly.   It's easy to criticize what you don't understand.

Look, truth be told, there wasn't a whole lot of what you said that was flattering for you.  I have read, and re-read your post.  What I keep seeing is that it all sort of hangs there like ill fitting clothing.  I guess it's one of those annoying traits of humanity; it sort of makes us feel important when we can minimize things that others hold near and dear, and turn our own selfish needs and wants into someone elses desires by constantly patting ourselves on the back.  What you seem to be projecting in your post - and I don't know you from a hole in the wall - is "Look what I have!  Are you proud of me yet?  Will you love me if I have more?"  How easy it is to assume that because we have, someone else must want.   I guess my point is maybe take to heart some of the things you have said in previous posts about taking responsibility for your own actions (in this case, a blog entry).  Quiet honestly, I could care less what you believe; know salvation or not...I wish you did, but if you choose not to so be it...but

I guess it all means just be careful...

Anonymous said...

"Quiet honestly," if you really want to discuss any of this with me, feel free to send me an email at luvrte66@aol.com.