Tuesday, September 20, 1994

READ: 1 Timothy 6:3-10

"BE CONTENT"

"You shall not covet your neighbor's

house...nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Exodus 20:17

A store owner in Maine stubbornly refused to carry a new product.

"You must remember, young feller,

" said the storekeeper to the salesman,

"that in this part of the country every want ain't a need."

Confusing our wants with our needs goes to the heart of coveting and explains why we are so

often driven by the desire for more and more. We fail to see that life's greatest fulfillment

is not found in accumulating things but in knowing God.

The tenth commandment may seem like an add-on compared to such big-ticket items as murder,

stealing, lying, and adultery, but it is foundational to all the other commandments and

ensures peace and contentment. It is the only command that zeroes in on a forbidden attitude

rather than an action. Yet it is a safeguard against the temptation to break the other nine commandments.

David's covetous desire for another man's wife led to adultery, stealing, and murder (2 Sam. 11).

And a desire for more and more pleasure, power, or possessions can destroy family relationships and cause us to

lie to others. And because covetousness is idolatry (Col. 3:5), it also keeps us from having

and maintaining a right relationship with God.

Lord, help us to be content in You.

--Dennis J. DeHaan

When we would covet more and more

Of this world's gold, of earthly store,

Help us, O God, to look above

And draw upon Your matchless love.

--DJD

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

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Contentment is wanting what you have, not having everything you want