“You shall not covet.”
Exodus 20:17
Coveting happens in the secret places of your heart. It is known only to you and to God. Your neighbour would know if you stole his car, but he would never know if you coveted his car. Nobody knows the secret desires of your heart. Nobody knows your secret fantasies.
The tenth commandment is the key to understanding the other nine. All the other commandments are about specific actions. Murder, adultery, stealing, and perjury are all behaviours that can be seen, but the tenth commandment deals with what happens in your heart.
People have the idea that in the Old Testament God was only concerned with our actions, but that it was Jesus who put a new spin on the commandments: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mat. 5:27-28).
The tenth commandment makes it clear that this was the original intent of Almighty God when He gave the commandments to Moses. The reason Jesus taught as He did is that this is precisely the teaching of the Old Testament.
The tenth commandment makes it clear that God calls us to more than upright behaviour. He calls us to purity of heart. It’s not just that you should do right but that you should be right.
Have you been aiming primarily at the target of right behaviour, or at right behaviour and purity of heart?
