3 Bible Tips: The Tenth Commandment
1. God tells us not to covet (crave or desire, especially in excessive or improper ways).
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's" (Exodus 20:17).
2. Wrong desires can lead to sins of all kinds.
"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14-15; see also 4:1-2).
3. One antidote to covetousness is seeking God's help to esteem others highly and think of their needs.
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3-4; another antidote is contentment, Hebrews 13:5).
For more about the Tenth Commandment, see "The Tenth Commandment: True Righteousness Comes From the Heart" from the booklet The Ten Commandments.