If you ask people their opinion of the 10 Commandments, you're likely to get a variety of answers. Some would call them a list of good ideas, but about half are outdated. Some would say obeying them is how we earn God's favor. (Okay, they might not actually use those words, but that is their broad conclusion.) And some would just roll their eyes at the whole thing.
No matter where we fall on that spectrum, it's easy to view the 10 Commandments as a cold list of dos and don'ts. The word "commandment" doesn't exactly conjure up warm, fuzzy feelings, does it? But when viewed in this impersonal way, we miss God's heart in them.
God handed down the 10 Commandments (perhaps better translated as "Words," according to some scholars) after he brought the Israelites out of slavery. The Israelites were the centerpiece of God's rescue plan for the whole world—a plan that began when God called Abraham to pack up and follow him. The project was always for Abraham's descendants to be a blessing to all nations. And as part of that plan, they needed to reflect God's heart to the world. The 10 Commandments give us a glimpse into that heart.
It's easy to imagine God making up the 10 Commandments on a whim one day. Moses goes up to Mt. Sinai and says, "What should I tell the people today?"
"Well, I was up all night coming up with a list of 10 things for y'all to do," God replies. "I think it'd be pretty fun to watch you guys try to keep them all. Good luck!"
But the essence of the 10 Commandments was always part of who God is. They show us how to be at peace with God, others, and ourselves. In Genesis, long before the commandments were spelled out, we see heartbreaking things happen when people violate their concepts. And not because God "punished" them, but because there are real-life consequences to breaking that peace. When we look at the commandments through the lens of God's heart, a lifeless list becomes a beautiful way of living. And for me, this beauty shines through most in the final commandment.
The 10th commandment comes after a list of four big "don'ts": Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, or testify falsely against your neighbor. Even today, we have laws around at least two of those things. And we know that all these actions hurt other people in some way. (Yes, we can rationalize away their impact. But the very act of minimizing shows there is a consequence to minimize!)
But then you get to the 10th commandment, and it almost seems out of place in this behavior-based list:
You must not covet your neighbor's house. You must not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17, NLT)
The Message version puts it this way: Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's.
But why? If I want something that someone else has, who am I hurting? That person won't even know about my secret jealousy!
You could make the argument that it's a guardrail. If I don't covet anything, I'm less likely to break those four previous commandments, right? Yes. That's true. But I think it goes deeper (and is more beautiful) than that.
God doesn't want us to just "get along" with each other and try not to break anything, as if we're siblings left alone with a newbie babysitter. He wants us to love each other and live together in a thriving community. That's God's heart for his children.
When I want something someone else has—whether it's their stuff, their success, or their book sale numbers (Ouch! That one hurt, Michael!)—I break the peace I have with them. (I also break the peace I have with God and myself.) If I am jealous of someone's success, I will have a hard time celebrating with them. There will always be something between us, even if I never do anything to actively hurt them.
This is why when Jesus came, he was able to summarize all God's commandments into one "new" command: "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." (John 13:34) This is God's heart behind the commandments. It reveals what he's all about.
But how do we "not covet"? Behavior-based commands are easier to follow because we know where the line is. We can walk right up to it but not cross it. But this commandment forces us to look inside of ourselves. We all have desires, and most of them are probably good things. But how do we keep them from controlling us?
I think it starts with reframing how we look at the 10th commandment—and all God's commandments, for that matter. Instead of seeing it as one more thing not to do, we need to see God's heart in it.
God loves you too much to see you spending your time wishing you were someone else. He wants to bless the world through you—in the way you love, serve, and encourage others. When you express sincere joy in seeing your neighbors flourish, they get a glimpse of God's heart. In a world that can be cynical and skeptical, joy without strings attached can be a refreshing balm. This is the vision God is inviting us into. And it's so much bigger than obeying a set of rules because we "have to."
And when we get it wrong (and we will) and feel jealousy creep into our hearts, it's okay. Because of Jesus, we are not condemned. We can bring our feelings to Jesus and ask him to help us in those moments. We can't do it on our own, and he knows it.
Maybe it's as simple as saying, "Jesus, I'm feeling jealous about________." I can't change my feelings, but I can give them to you. Please help me. Help me be a neighbor that reflects your heart into this world."
I pray to see God's heart behind every commandment rather than a lifeless set of arbitrary rules.
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