The Tenth Commandment Explained
“You shall not covet.” — Exodus 20:17
The Meaning of the Commandment
The Tenth Commandment reaches deeper than behaviour and touches the heart. When God declared, “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17), He addressed the desires that lead to all other sins. Unlike theft, adultery, or false witness, which are outward actions, coveting is an inward condition. It is the quiet discontent that whispers, “What I have is not enough.”
To covet means to long for what belongs to another, whether possessions, position, or relationships. It is more than admiration or ambition; it is desire mixed with envy, wanting something in a way that disregards the boundaries set by God.
This commandment exposes the hidden roots of sin such as greed, jealousy, and discontent. It reminds humanity that sin begins not in the hand or the tongue but in the heart.
The Commandment of the Heart
The Tenth Commandment reveals that obedience to God is not only about external actions but also about internal integrity. Even if one were to keep all other commandments outwardly, covetousness could still break them inwardly.
The Apostle Paul experienced this truth personally. He wrote, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:7). The law exposed the hidden motives of his heart. Coveting, though invisible to others, is visible to God.
Jesus expanded on this truth when He taught that sin is rooted in thought and desire, not only action. Evil deeds begin as inward wishes. The Tenth Commandment therefore calls for purity of heart and contentment of spirit. These virtues grow from trust in God’s goodness and provision.
The Nature of Coveting
Coveting is not simply wanting something. It is wanting it wrongly. Scripture makes a clear distinction between healthy desire and sinful craving. It is natural to work toward improvement, to dream, and to build, but coveting distorts those desires by comparing them to others and resenting what they have.
James wrote, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:1–2). Covetous desire disrupts peace, poisons relationships, and replaces gratitude with greed.
The heart that covets soon breaks other commandments. Envy leads to theft, lust to adultery, greed to false witness, and pride to dishonour. This is why the Tenth Commandment sits at the end. It exposes the origin of every moral collapse.
Trust and Contentment
At its core, this commandment teaches trust. Coveting is not merely about possessions. It is about believing that God has withheld something good. The cure, therefore, is not denial but faith. Trust that God’s provision is sufficient and His plan is wise.
Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11). True contentment is learned, not inherited. It grows through gratitude and through recognising God’s daily provision.
Hebrews 13:5 echoes this same principle: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” The believer who trusts God’s presence never fears lack. Contentment is not about having everything, but about knowing that in God, nothing essential is missing.
The Deception of Desire
Covetousness deceives by promising happiness through possession. Yet Scripture warns that such desire never satisfies. Ecclesiastes 5:10 declares, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”
Desire without restraint leads to discontent without end. The more one feeds greed, the stronger it grows. Jesus warned, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15). The illusion of more always hides the poverty of gratitude.
The Tenth Commandment redirects the human heart from chasing more to cherishing enough. It replaces comparison with gratitude and envy with peace.
Coveting and Idolatry
Covetousness is not only discontent. Scripture calls it idolatry. Paul wrote, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5).
To covet is to place trust in possessions or status rather than in God. It turns created things into ultimate things, a subtle form of worshipping idols of desire. The First and Tenth Commandments therefore mirror each other. The first forbids worshipping false gods, and the tenth forbids desiring them in the heart. The moral law begins and ends with love for God above all else.
Gratitude: The Antidote to Coveting
Gratitude is the strongest safeguard against covetousness. It shifts focus from what is missing to what has been given. Psalm 103:2 exhorts, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” When gratitude fills the heart, envy has no room to grow.
The thankful person sees every blessing as a gift, not a right. Gratitude turns possessions into stewardship, relationships into trust, and needs into prayers. It restores peace by aligning the heart with God’s generosity.
Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thankfulness transforms the restless heart into a content one and turns obedience into joy.
Living the Commandment
To live by the Tenth Commandment is to practise contentment daily. It means resisting comparison, celebrating others’ success, and trusting that God’s timing and provision are perfect. It means silencing envy before it speaks and redirecting desire toward what is good and lasting.
This commandment invites believers to live free from the slavery of want. It teaches that peace is not found in possession but in perspective, in knowing that everything belongs to God, and that He provides according to wisdom and love.
The person who keeps this commandment learns to say with David, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1). That single truth silences covetousness more effectively than any rule. The Shepherd’s care leaves no lack.
Summary
The Tenth Commandment, “You shall not covet,” moves the law from the external to the internal and reveals that righteousness begins in the heart. It forbids envy, greed, and discontent, calling believers to gratitude, contentment, and trust in God’s provision.
To keep this commandment is to rest in the sufficiency of God’s care, to rejoice in others’ blessings, and to recognise that peace is found not in gaining more but in wanting less. It completes the moral journey of the Ten Commandments by teaching that true obedience flows from a heart transformed by love and gratitude.
Scripture References
Exodus 20:17 – “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.”
Romans 7:7 – “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’”
James 4:1–2 – “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.”
Philippians 4:11 – “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
Hebrews 13:5 – “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”
Luke 12:15 – “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Colossians 3:5 – “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Psalm 103:2 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Psalm 23:1 – “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
