“Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17) is among the big “not supposed to” rules that Moses received from God. But of all the Ten Commandments, it might feel like one of the hardest to obey.
On the surface, goodness often appears to be divided up unfairly. It’s tempting to compare one person with another.
The Amplified Bible explains this important rule for individual behavior this way: “You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] … anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
I have sometimes struggled with this charge. Growing up, I loved singing and studied music in high school and college. However, I noticed how often this placed me in competition with others. Auditioning for solo opportunities or special training programs meant that someone would win the role, and the rest would go home empty-handed. It always felt fundamentally unfair, even when I was the winner.
Fortunately, there is a healing solution to this challenge. It starts with getting a clearer understanding of God and of ourselves as God’s daughters and sons.
Jesus taught that God is our heavenly Father and explained, “If ye … know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). Our Father is the source of all our abilities, and He is infinite and impartial.
Because our divine Parent is always pouring out unlimited spiritual goodness to each of us, we always have all that we need. The most powerful solution to perceived lack or inequality always lies in striving to identify ourselves and everyone else spiritually. This identity is whole, satisfied, and forever blessed with spiritual qualities that we each uniquely reflect.
Because God is One, the goodness we reflect is not portioned out or divided up any more than sunlight pouring onto an open field could belong to one person and not another. As spiritual ideas of God, we are never in competition with one another for love or goodness in any form.
The willingness to confront in prayer the pervasive and aggressive belief that good is limited can even result in physical healing. One time, I had been selected along with a group of other young artists to receive a grant. All the award recipients were invited to attend a dinner, where we would each perform an aria as the evening’s entertainment.
As we ate our dinners, though, I began to feel physically ill with a migraine headache and nausea that got worse and worse as the performance grew closer.
Turning to God in prayer and asking what I should do, I recognized right away that I had been comparing myself to the other singers in my group and feeling inferior to them. One girl in particular was so attractive and talented, I found myself feeling quite envious of all the love and approval I was sure she would receive from the audience. It took humility to admit that I had been entertaining this line of thinking.
I soon realized that, ultimately, I just wanted to feel loved, and immediately the powerful understanding came that I was already completely loved by my Father-Mother, God, who had put me at that table that night. And this love was the love of divine Love, which is infinite and embraced everyone in the whole room. I felt divine Love flood my thinking, and before I knew it, the headache and nausea had vanished.
I was able to perform with freedom, joy, and affection for everyone involved. I experienced the practicality of this biblical directive and promise: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
I continue to learn more about the constant presence of God’s outpouring gift of grace, which is able to conquer any suggestion that someone else has what I want or need.
The unlimited generosity of our heavenly Parent applies to every aspect of our lives. The clearer we are about this fact, the more proof we will have of it.
Discussing obedience to God’s law, Paul states, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9).
The ability to love one another and to want the best for everyone – that is something to wholeheartedly desire to possess. And we all have that ability now.
Adapted from an article published in the Sept. 13, 2021, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
