The Tenth Commandment is, “You shall not covet.”
I mentioned recently that I’m starting to recognize a lot of covetousness in the public sphere. For a long time, I didn’t really comprehend what covetousness is. I would define it as wanting something so badly that it is a sin, or being willing to steal something, or prompt someone else to steal it. The woman in that post certainly demonstrated covetousness. I will give some other examples.
I went to a Planned Parenthood rally yesterday in Colorado Springs to remind them that abortion is murder with several friends. The Colorado Springs socialists showed up, and they were kind of like Antifa wannabes. One dude covered his face with a bandanna, they blocked the sidewalk, and stole signs.
They said that they want to seize the means of production so that it can be owned by the workers. The one young guy said he works 40-60 hours a week for $25,000 and his eeeeevil boss makes hundreds of thousands by owning the company and exploiting him. He covets more free time and money to the point that he wants the government to steal the means of production from the current owners.
Another example of covetousness was a letter to the editor during the last election over the issue of whether the Canon City sales tax should be raised to pay for new roads. A guy wrote that he wants new roads, and the sales tax would be a way for out-of-towners to help pay for them. He revealed his sinful covetousness to the whole town.
I can’t remember the last time I heard a pastor explain this. What if Christians were taught to apply the Bible to their politics and voting? What if the guy who wrote the letter to the editor knew that Christians would immediately recognize his sinful attitude? Why does he feel no shame in expressing his sin in public? Because Christians haven’t taught God’s law.
There are enough Christians in this country that if covetousness in politics was taught to be a sin, very few tax increases would ever pass again. Is covetousness in the voting booth less of a sin than covetousness in day-to-day life?
