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This blog post is Part 32 of a series entitled "From Fear To Freedom" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN. 

Message Date: November 3, 2024

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The McGinnis family moved to New York in the summer of 1912 in part to escape the heat and humidity of the deep South. They bought a nice, fairly sizeable home in Rhinebeck, New York as a summer getaway home for their family of 5. They enjoyed their first summer in New York, visiting the Long Island beaches, watching the ships come in and out on the docks of the New York harbor, and attending shows on Broadway such as “A Rich Man’s Son,” “A Butterfly on a Wheel,” and one of their family favorites, “A Slice of Life.” Once that first summer in their New York home came to an end, the family packed up their belongings, and left for their home in sunny Southern Florida. At the end of the following school year, the family arrived back in Rhinebeck, excited to enjoy another summer in New York. Once arriving, they were surprised to see that a home had been built next to theirs – a home larger than they had ever seen; a mansion spreading more than 8,000 square feet. The owner of this home, a widowed lady, whom they called Mrs. Elizabeth, was extremely nice, and grotesquely wealthy. The McGinnis family would later go on record explaining how Mrs. Elizabeth would throw extravagant parties, sometimes hosting more than 1,000 people a weekend.

Over the course of the following 10 years, the McGinnis family would come and go from their beloved home in New York. And, each summer, when they would arrive at their getaway home, it appeared that even more larger homes than that owned by Mrs. Elizabeth had been built; homes even more extravagant; more eloquent; and more excessive. Ten years after first moving to Rhinebeck, NY, the McGinnis family chose to sell their cherished summer home. They would later state the reason for leaving this home full of so very many family memories – they did not want to continue inserting their young and impressionable children into an environment where it was obvious that so very many people were enthralled with the practice of covetousness. In the words of the McGinnis Family...

“Every year, more and more people seemed to out-do the other – bigger homes; bigger parties; bigger everything. It was as if everyone was exhaustively trying to keep up with Mrs. Elizabeth... Mrs. Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones.

Thus, began the ever-famous idiom known to this very day: “Keeping up with the Jones’s!”

Have you ever been watching TV, or as is the case specifically here in the South on a Saturday, the game, and a commercial comes on and, almost immediately, you are captivated; you are mesmerized; you are sold! And you are sitting there thinking... “I have got to buy that!” Or... “I have got to take that trip!” “Or I really need that nose job!” Amy says when we are watching football, or just about anything on TV for that matter... I get sucked into just about every commercial. I think she is right!

Commercials; marketing; social thread ads – they are meant to do exactly this: Captivate us!  More specifically... marketing companies get paid a whole lot of bank with one goal to arouse within the viewer: Dissatisfaction! Whether it be a new car, a night on the town, a dream vacation... or a new whatever... today’s marketing is unyielding; it’s relentless; it’s unremitting, and, at its core, it strikes at the heart of Western culture materialism working incessantly to convince you: “I am disassitisfied with my present “have-nots!” I am dissatisfied with not having what others have.” “I am disassitisfied and in need of what others have.” Or... “I am disassitisfied and in need of more!”

Raging against the sin of coveting is so very hard, because in culture today, the message is permeating through pop culture, sports, arts, music, and even literature, that you need more, deserve more, and therefore should go get whatever “more” justifies your appetite for more!

Obviously, at the moment God spoke these Commandments to the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, He knew that humanity, both the Hebrew nation and eventually all nations, would struggle with lusting for more... or, as the Bible labels such an action: covetousness! Coveting can take on so very many ways... a ravaging and all-encompassing internal dissatisfaction; they feeling of one never having enough; the “keeping up with the Jones’s” mentality” to acquire more; to be consumed with envy; to desire another person... again, covetousness can manifest in so very many practices!

And so... with Commandment #10, God’s voice echoes across the dry desert where the Hebrews are encamped at the base of the Mountain of God, and He proclaims:

Commandment #10: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exodus 20:17

The tenth Commandment is conceivably the most instructive and, too, the most devastating of all the Commandments God spoke to the nation of Israel, because this Commandment, above all other nine Commandments, addresses the most intimate and inner manner of the heart. Coveting is about one’s insolence and attitude toward the holiness of God. Because coveting, at its very core, is the evidence of a heart dissatisfied with and in defiance of all that the Lord has given to you.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Keep your lives free from the love of money; be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 

It is important to note why this Commandment was so necessary and too so difficult for the nation of Israel to digest. Keep in mind, that it was only a few months previous to the moment God spoke from heaven to His people in Exodus 20, that the Hebrews were living in the most rich and luxurious country on the planet. Though they were slaves, they were too accustomed to seeing those within the nation of Egypt in possession of tremendous wealth; luxury; comfort; in excess; and living with so very many pleasures afforded to a nation of prosperity and notoriety.

So, now that God’s people are settling into becoming their own nation, and, in particular once the ancestors of these 2+ million people will settle into the land flowing with milk and honey in Canaan, it will be only natural that the Israelites will be tempted, potentially even aroused, to fall into covetousness – to covet the blessings of their neighbors; to covet the wealth of their neighbors, to covet the, so to speak...“Hebrew Joneses.” So God is establishing now before them, His expectation for His people to understand that coveting will very much so rear its ugly and addictive head... and they must rage against it!

For us today as a people living within the borders of American luxury and comfort and excess, the power of these words spoken to God’s people at the base of Mount Horeb cannot be overstated! I want to show you two passages from the New Testament, one in the book of 1st Timothy and another to the Church in Colossae. Both, written by the apostle Paul, run counterpart to Commandment #10:

1 Timothy 6:6-12

Notice a word within this verse that is paramount for you today in your understanding of what a covetous heart can do to, and for, your relationship with God. I refer to the word: Contentment. Paul says in verse 6: “Godliness with contentment is a great gain.” Commandment #10 is really about a struggle between covetousness and contentment; the inner struggle between wanting what you do not have and being at rest with what do you have, and too, with that which you do not have. Church, it is mostly impossible for us to understand the meaning and power and importance of Commandment #10 without too considering the valuable and holy attribute of contentment. For...

A heart content is one at peace with who you are, the blessings you have, and the one who provides.

When you covet, the lure of idolatry manifests within a heart discontentment and too, relentlessly strains to convince you, “I deserve to have that which is had by another.” Simultaneously, the lure of idolatry says, “What God so graciously has afforded to me is both deficient and insufficient for me.”Does this make sense, y’all? Though Paul, in his writings to Timothy, never uses the word “covet,” we can clearly conject with his words: The opposite of covetousness is a heart at rest fully immersed in contentment and found solely through a genuine life of faithfulness in a Holy God who supplies all of your needs. Paul goes on to say that this idea, this mantra, is quite simple when one considers, as he explains in verse 7:

1Timothy 6:7

And he then further writes in verse 11 what man’s position on this matter must be... otherwise, a heart coveting is awaiting those who choose to not flee such a position:

1 Timothy 6:11

Paul too writes to the church in Colossae a parallel thought to the words he offers to Timothy:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5

The word “greed” which Paul writes to the church in Colossae does not merely mean “to want” what one does not have. No, it is deeper than this. The word “greed” in the Greek is defined as:

Greed / Greek/ n. = actions grudgingly covetous

Paul says that you are to “put to death” such actions because: A covetous heart is one enflamed under a constant inner struggle competing with your innermost contentment. For the follower of the Christ, a heart content is one enthralled with an allegiance to satisfaction and peace and joy no matter life’s circumstances; a heart at rest in belief that a holy God is at work having your best interest at heart.

In both Paul’s writings to a young Timothy, and too, to the new church in Colossae, Paul’s challenge runs counterpart: Covetousness can often be a desire so strong that it strangles within the believer the ability to hold fast to one’s contentment with, and for, a Holy God. You see the opposite of covetousness is contentment in God. When your contentment in God decreases, the act of covetousness in your heart increases. This is the very reason for which Paul tells the church in Colossae that covetousness is simply this... idolatry. I find it of no coincidence at all that the 10 Commandments both begin and end with God’s proclamation for His people to place Him first... fully first!

Commandment #1: You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

Commandment #10: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exodus 20:17

The 10 Commandments are bookmarked by Laws that are virtually equivalent commands. Coveting is desiring anything other than God in a way that decreases a loss of contentment and satisfaction in God. Covetousness is a heart divided between two gods. Therefore, Paul rightly defines this commandment as idolatry. You see Church... The contentment with which your heart is in such need is a completeness one can only garner from God. And when coveting reigns supreme within the deepness of your heart, it begins yearning for something it is made to only receive from Him, yet instead it receives something else from the world. This is why Paul calls us each to put to death such an act of idolatry. So, how does one do such? Well, at its most basic starting point, it is paramount you understand that everything you have you only have because God has blessed you. We read this verse earlier. See this again:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Secondly, I want to offer five thoughts that, first, speak to the awareness you are to possess as it relates to all that has been afforded you. These five points are take-aways for us as we come to the end of our study of Exodus 20 and the Ten Commandments:

1. The Commandments establish your responsibility. In obedience, you extend a holy reverence to a holy God. These Commandments are not merely laws to follow. These Words of God are a way of life, and, if embraced and followed, are the ways in which we as His people show the upmost of reverence to a Holy God. A life lived short of these expectations, in any way, is a life lived of irreverence.

2. The Commandments forbid. They too require. Though the Commandments are mostly presented to us in the form of a negative, “Thou shall not...”, they too are presented in a positive dimension. For example... “You shall have no other gods before me,” implies “Worship Me alone.”  “You shall not make for yourself an image,” implies “Worship Me in the way I desire.”  “Honor your father and mother,” implies “Worship me in how you revere your parents.” “You shall not murder,” implies “Worship me by valuing all life.” “You shall keep the Sabbath holy,” implies “Worship me in rest.” As you follow God’s commands, one cannot help but to worship an almighty and all sovereign Holy Father.

3. The Commandments express God’s highest expectations. In following such, one finds a life of true freedom. Some may consider such 10 Laws by which you are commanded to live as strict; as stringent; stern. But in actuality, when you choose to live by these Commandments, freedom is yours for the taking. Remember when we studied 14 weeks ago that God told Moses to go stand before Pharoah? He said to tell him,

Then say to Pharaoh, This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. Exodus 4:22

Any parent who has disciplined a child fully understands that establishing “laws” in the home ultimately leads our children to freedom. As they follow our discipline, though not always easy to do, a child realizes that true freedom comes when one exercises and then proves themselves to be responsible and trustworthy. Laws lead to freedom.

Psalm 19:7-11

The same is true in regards to how God speaks to His people through these commandments. God is speaking to His people as a father would speak to a child. Fundamentally, we should receive the 10 Commandments as the instructions from a loving Father to a child. And when we follow these instructions, we learn how to live a life that is good and honoring and pleasing to Him.

4. The Commandments are exactly this – Commandments. The 10 Commandments are not called “The 10 Considerations!” They are the 10 Commandments. You see… There is no area of my life of which God is not concerned. There is no area of my life of which God will not ignore my indiscretions. There is no area of my life of which God does not expect my complete loyalty.

5. The Commandments do not tell you how to do everything. The Commandments do tell you to do these 10 things. The Bible does not tell you what car to purchase. The Bible does not tell you which person to marry. The Bible does not tell you what team for which you are to cheer. The Bible does not tell you where to live. The Bible does not tell you how many children you are to parent. The Bible does not tell you where to vacation. The Bible does not tell you any of these things, and so very many more of things you will consider and do in life. In a lifetime, you will make decisions upon decisions; countless decisions; some extravagant; some risky; some simple; some practical; and yes, some just for the fun of it! God chose, for whatever reason, to leave so very many decisions up to you and to me. But there are 10 decisions for which God explicitly, and unequivocally, and undoubtedly, and undisputedly, and undeniably told you to follow without compromise; and possibly even, at times, without conviction, upon which you are to hold fast without vacillating; without staggering; without wavering. God said:

Exodus 20:3-17

The Bible does not tell you how to do everything. It does tell you to do these 10 things. So, then for the believer facing an insurmountable amount of decisions in one’s day, how are you to choose what is good, and right, and Holy, and pleasing in the eyes of a righteous God...

The key to accepting, believing, holding fast to, and obeying the 10 Commandments... a mind renewed.

Now Church, it would have been much easier for me, as your Pastor, to just simply say, “Obey. Obey the 10 Commandments.” But as your Pastor, I am so very willing to admit that, at times, and may I confess, at so very many times, much about the 10 Commandments is just so darn hard to obey! This is why I know that I need, daily, sometimes even hourly, and too, all too often, at every second of mostly every day, to be about the pursuit of a mind renewed. I presume the same is true for you as well. Paul writes to the Church:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Church this is why our time in the Word, and in study, and in community is such an integral and important process of renewal. It is what we are called to as His Church; His people; His bride.

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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.