Series: The Ten Commandments
The Tenth Commandment:
Thou Shall Not Covet: Pursuing False Union
Exodus 20:17, NRSV
Philippians 4:10-13, NRSV
Reflections
Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all
— Joseph Epstein
from his essay “The Green-Eyed Monster”
- Happiness is Love — and $75,000
- Having enough, but hungry for more
- What does it mean to covet, over-desire, distorted-desire
- Paul says it is not to be detached, to give up desire, in order to be content
- We are victim of culture that we help created, culture of consumerism
- “Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire”
- More status, more money, more sex, more travel
- “The key to economic prosperity is the organized creation of dissatisfaction.” In 1929 Charles F. Kettering, director of GM
- “He has a daily beauty in his life, that makes me ugly” from Shakespeare’s Othello
- “Because our consumption can take us anywhere, we are nowhere in particular.”
- To be content
- not attachment, but rapid engagement
- we can pray, to pray for power of God to guard our heart, our mind
- slow down, learn to look at one place deeply, watch your pace, watch your community, be patience
- simplify your life, this is where freedom is found