Stroll through Scripture for Sunday September 6, 2026

Based on Exodus 20:17

One verse.  That’s the whole reading for this Sunday.  It’s the final segment of our four week series on the Ten Commandments.  

The verse reads: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Seems pretty simple on the surface, just like all the rest of the commandments.  Yet, this commandment, like all the others, is more complex than just the surface reading.  

On the one level, it is simple – if something doesn’t belong to you, then don’t take it.  Btu the complexity comes in when we take that concept and move beyond just material things.  “or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  It’s not just their stuff we are talking about.  Coveting means to strongly want or desire something that belongs to someone else.  When we start to really think and reflect on this, it gets complicated fast.  

The real question is why shouldn’t we?  For one thing, comparisons start to form.  We start to judge the worth of the holder of the object.  Humans are really good at rationalizing and twisting logic in order to get the result we want.  

Coveting also has to do with envy.  Envy can involve wanting something that belongs to someone else so badly that we may either wish harm on that person, or actively do something that would cause the person to lose control of the item we desire.  

In modern American society, we might talk about coveting something like keeping up with the Jones’.  Coveting often has to do with making ourselves appear to be more than we are. And that’s problematic for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that we are not in right relationship with God, with our neighbors, or ourselves.  

Lastly, we need to address the reality that this commandment allows for slavery to continue.  That’s problematic and should not be overlooked.  While the culture saw slavery as a norm, we don’t.  Which again brings into question the public posting of the Ten Commandments in schools or other public facilities.  What exactly are we endorsing when we post the Commandments, especially out of context?