The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 60
Note: Chapter 56-59, can only be found at: The Christian Letter.
“Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Nor covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17).
“What, then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? Let it not be! However, I did not know sin except through the Torah. For also the covetousness I knew not if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:7). Without the Torah, we would not know that to be greedy is sin (to be untrue to Who created us, and who we were created to be).
The word “covet” describes the characteristic of desiring the possessions of others. Coveting is a temptation masquerading as a desire to satisfy our self ahead of the true Father Who forbids this practice. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: whoring, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed of gain, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5). Let us be thankful for what we have in the Messiah.
Many wonder who our neighbor is, debating about how many meters away is required, or whether it is based on houses. Many people fall here, as they view people who live right next door as their neighbor, but not those who are far away, or of an opposing religion, region, or nationality. However, one such man asked the Rabbi who our neighbor is. We would be wise to listen and apply His answer.
“And see, a certain one learned in the Torah stood up, trying Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit everlasting life?’
And He said to him, ‘What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it?’
And he answering, said, ‘“You shall Love Yahoweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbour as yourself.”’
And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly. Do this and you shall live.’
But he, wishing to declare himself righteous, said to Yahoshuah, ‘And who is my neighbour?’
And replying, Yahoshuah said, ‘A certain man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yeriho, and fell among robbers, who, both stripping and beating him, went away, leaving him half dead. And by a coincidence a certain priest was going down that way. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Lewite also, when he came to the place, and seeing, passed by on the other side. But a certain Shomeronite, journeying, came upon him. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And having placed him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and looked after him. And going out on the next day, he took out two pieces of silver, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, “Look after him, and whatever more you spend I shall repay you when I return.” Who, then, of these three, do you think, was neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?’
And he said, ‘He who showed compassion on him.’
Then Yahoshuah said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Luke 10:25-37).
Go and do likewise. The Jews looked down on the Samaritans, and to be sure not all of the Samaritans were neighborly, but we are called to be holy as He is Holy, loving as He is Loving; therefore, all are our neighbors if we truly follow the Messiah, seeking after the very heart of Yahoweh in the poorest of the world.
“‘Teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?’ And Yahoshuah said to him, ‘“You shall love Yahoweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great command. And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:36-40). Including this one: Do not covet. If we do not love our neighbor (all people) as ourselves, then our testimony can become a tarnished wall preventing people from seeing the Messiah. People like ourselves.
“You heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those insulting you and persecuting you, so that you become sons of your Father in the heavens. Because He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those loving you, what reward have you? Are the tax collectors not doing the same too? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Are the tax collectors not doing so too? Therefore, be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48).
We often do not pray for those who persecute us, but rather for ourselves. Would the Good Samaritan really have been a neighbor if he’d coveted his coin or time? Of course not. That he would pay the innkeeper whatever was further spent on him, shows the Samaritan had more than just a moment of compassion, but loved enough to care for him many days. Let us care for others as we would care for ourselves. Let us not covet what the world has. Yet, what does the world have?
“Do not covet your neighbor’s house,” Even on wonderful Sabbath walks we can eye someone’s picturesque house and covet, especially if you live in a run down basement apartment like me. However, while I am appreciative of what I have, I do not find it completely vain to improve living conditions a little bit. Alas, even people who have billions of dollars, and more than one mansion, have a greed for … more. Be satisfied with what you have, even if there isn’t a shirt for your back or a pillow for your head.
“Let your way of life be without the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I shall never leave you nor forsake you,’” (Hebrews 13:5).” Even if I own nothing in this world, I am rich. We have the Messiah! Allegorically speaking, without Him we are naked, but with Him, even if we are nude, we are fully clothed. We believers—followers—put on the Messiah, and have no desire to put Him away. We will not trade the white garments He has given, for the greed of another’s false wealth.
How often do we covet a house? From furniture to new roofs, it is likely al of us are guilty of this, but this commandment does not only warn us not to fall into material greed, but also marital.
“Do not covet your neighbor’s wife,” … It is no lie that women are works of great art. The Master Artist Yahoweh painted them with our blood upon fine soil, and I dare say He painted well. But be careful, dear brothers in Messiah, do not allow your heart or eyes to covet the young unmarried woman who will someday be your neighbor’s wife! Do not let lust, the greed of pigs, into your garden.
Simply by looking at a rose, I can either take pleasure, or take sin. I can smell the rose, and sound out in my mind, “Oh, I love the smell of roses, and this one is so sweet it fills the senses.” or I can whisper in my heart, “I wish I had that rose in my yard.” I can appreciate, or I can covet. I can see a woman in a swimsuit, no, I’ll up the odds, a nude woman running down the beach, and indeed I have many times, and I am not sexually or mentally aroused by her, yet I am by my wife. I look at the woman, and simply see that she is beautiful. I’ll up it a little more, I can see a nude man doing the same thing, and simply see that he is fit and healthy. I am not tempted by him or her, nor repulsed, any more than had I seen a dog running along the beach.
Do not fear temptation instead of Elohim. Perfect love casts out fear, not the fear of displeasing your lover by falling into temptation, but love casts out the fear of temptation. If you are in total love with your wife, temptations for other women have very little power. If you are in love with your children, false hunger for overt gambling cannot compare.
So many people refuse to look at anyone who might be nude or in a swimsuit, or even dressed in a pretty fashion; however, in this world you cannot help it, and so you see that person, and the worst thing happens: You feel temptation because you have placed fear on a woman, not Elohim. Adam made that mistake, and we can fall in the same way.
While we ought flee from sin; a sterilized world is not what we need. We need His guidance. The Messiah spoke with whores who were likely immodestly dressed. Did He fall? Not even once. When we walk with Him, we will be before the harlot and the naked, the sick and the poor, and so I say that above the call of men and women to dress modestly is the call for us to emulate the Messiah, to love Him enough that we do not covet foul speech or fiendish mannerisms. In order for our desire to rest on Him, one must not fear temptation; rather, one must fear Yahoweh. Otherwise, you will see temptation as a forbidden desire, and flee from Elohim!
If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he commits adultery with her in his heart, but adultery is not a one sided sin. Rape is a one sided sin. If you are inviting men to lust you by dressing immodestly, then you are guilty of adultery, not once or with one man, but with thousands upon thousands of men. Two things in this sadden me. For far too long Mathew 5:28 has been preached to men only, and that women, and especially girls, refuse to believe that they are lusted after. Trust me, more men have desired you than you believe; therefore, do not add to their difficulties, or to your judgment, for it is better to have a millstone hung around your neck, and to be thrown into the sea, than to lead astray one of His children (Mathew 18:6). To Elohim, we are all children.
Please fight the good fight by not tempting others with immodest dress, but let us also be reasonable. There are billions of people on this planet. Do you think you are going to get all of them to dress modestly, and, that if you did, that men would cease to have temptation? I would rather every one was more attentive to how they think, than how others dress. Doctors, missionaries, and basically everyone is the world, is going to see a pretty lady at some point, and what she is or is not wearing is never going to be as important as what we allow ourselves to think. However, there remains two sides: If you do not want your man to go looking at other women, then why would you dress in a way to make other men look at you? Would you go to work, or church, in your bra and panties, or your underwear? No? Then why go to the beach in things that are even more revealing? One hundred years ago, most people today would be arrested for dressing as immodestly as they do. It will not surprise me if one day soon women will go shirtless as much or more than men. In fact, many women are advocating for this right. Yet, is it right for men to go shirtless? Or do they, too, lead women into adultery?
Ladies and gentlemen, I do not preach to you first to run from darkness, but to fear Yahoweh, for this is the beginning of wisdom. Only once you have so much fear—so much love—for Yahoweh that temptation dies, are you then able to have understanding, which is to flee from sin. The best way to flee from the sin of coveting is to love Elohim more. Now temptation no longer holds a magnifying glass up to your face, and you will see just how small and feeble lust truly is.
If you are kind, you share the batch of cookies you made, but if you are greedy, you eat all of them, and gluttony is the outcome. Lust is a form of greed, and a method to destroy it involves telling your spouse about it. Too many people lie about feeling desire, or seeing beauty in another. Men often feel compelled to hide a pretty picture or a hidden desire from their wives, but no one should. When I see a woman who is pretty, I point her out, or tell my wife. If I were to hide it, then it would become greed, and in greed I would covet, and in covertness, I would lust. The simple act of never hiding makes one stronger, and often turns immodesty into either a non-event, or a simple prayer for that person.
Husbands and wives, and betrothed couples, I admonish you to never condemn your partner for telling you a truth. Do not teach your partner to lie. If your lover tells you that a nude woman is very pretty, or a lady drinking coffee is mesmerizing, or that a fellow working in your office is attractive, then be thankful, and, if it is true, agree with your lover, and then be just that. Throwing a temper tantrum over your partner telling you the truth is the worst thing you can do, for now he will lie to you, or she will hide it in fear. I stress pornography cannot be allowed into the heart, the temple of the Holy Spirit, but if a girl is cute, well, she is what she is. Do not lie about beauty, for from lies comes greed, from greed comes coveting, from coveting comes lust, and from lust comes ruin. From truth telling comes honesty, from honesty comes embrace, from embrace comes friendship, and from friendship comes love.
Even if you do not yet know your wife, one must love her so much that he does not give this kind of mental, spiritual, and physical love to any woman, even one who has promised to marry him. A man saves his love for his bride alone. He works every day to become a better man in all areas of life, not just before marriage, but afterwards as well. The most beautiful of all women could sit by him, and he would not become aroused, but within a minute of hugging his wife, he would become overcome with passion. Another could beg and plead, and the man would not see it as temptation, for he would be engulfed with the fear of Yahoweh. Yet, with understanding, he would flee from sin regardless, not because he is granting unto that temptation any fear, but because he knows that: Sin without food to feed on, is dead, inasmuch as faith without works to show it, is dead.
The principle of modesty is found much more in the attitude of the individual as opposed to the manner of dress. I have seen, from mission’s trips to vacations, nude women along rivers and beaches. I was never tempted by any of them, for they exhibited no attitude of lust. I have also seen, as I am sure you have as well, women dressed in ankle length dresses, who, through their attitudes, become immodest, even whorish in their actions. Yet, some clothing is designed for sexual arousal, such as lingerie. In much the same way, many of the clothes I see people wear today are either worn for that purpose, or, far worse, were designed for that purpose, yet, are being worn by young happy girls who are oblivious to how much temptation they cause.
The definition for immodest clothing is the same as it is for lingerie: It covers, but it reveals what it covers. The shorts reveal the panties when sitting, the shirt gapes when bending over and so you see the breasts, the workout attire is form fitting with the form totally covered, yet revealed. Examine your clothes, as well as your presentation, for the glory of His Kingdom.
Why does a woman put on lingerie if nudity is more powerful? A dressed individual, male or female, can be more arousing than someone who is nude. Yet, once more, I shall not lie to you: Men, women, it is our heart’s duty first to fear Yahoweh, and then to flee from sin. Our first duty is not to condemn the way the world dresses, but to be so different, so radical, so loving (keeping His commandments, like this one), that others see in us, not judgment, by hope.
“Do not covet your neighbor’s manservant or maidservant,” Nowadays, in our culture, servants are not too common to covet … or are they? When reading “manservant or maidservant” our minds tend to envision a maid and a butler … but what about the waiter or the cook, the doctor or the nurse, the auto mechanic or the workers at the animal refuge? We covet a great deal once we truly open our hearts to the circumcising Word of Yahoweh.
What we covet from them might be their service or their talent. Yet, what gain do we measure unto ourselves by coveting our neighbor’s talent? How often do we hear or think, “Oh, I’d love to be able to cook like this.” or, “Oh, I wish we could get such good service at our home.” when you’re already getting the good food and service at the restaurant! It can be funny when people talk about eating one kind of good food while eating another … or it can be very sad. The sin of coveting is a heartbreakingly blinding state of affairs.
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wrong is like darkness; they do not know at what they stumble.” (Proverbs 4:18-19). The horror of spiritual blindness is this: the blindness is unknown. Many believe they are Christians, or fellow brothers and sisters, and stop so quickly in pursuit of the Way and the Truth, that it is barely daybreak when they do. He is the Light! Therefore, desire more of His Word, and you will, by doing so, find that to covet the world is to covet poverty, spiritual blindness, and nakedness.
“Do not covet your neighbor’s ox or donkey,” While you may not covet your neighbor’s ox or donkey, you might covet his car, lawnmower, gardening tools, pets, and so forth, which is what an ox or donkey would have once been. How many times have you eyed that new car zipping down the road? Or wished, not knowing what a wish is, for a nice garden?
While looking at how much I once unknowingly coveted is not something easy to do, it is true that one must find it to remove it. I love the Messiah, and so I yearn to remove all that is not like Him by Him. “This is My command, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:12). Yet, can I love others if my eyes are always wandering to their nice house, their wife or daughters, their workers, or their purebred pets? Can I honestly love them and share with them what I have in Messiah, if I am not looking at them, just in greed of them? … And more importantly, are we looking at all the Messiah gives, but not looking at the Messiah close enough to see Him wearing the tzitzit, the reminder of the Commandments, one of which says not to covet?
“Do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Now this is all encompassing! Everyone is our neighbor, and we ought not covet anything of his or hers! There is the continual tendency in almost all of us to be dissatisfied with what we have. People seem to want something better. When we see our neighbor gets a new entertainment system, car, furniture, clothes, or even a wife, we may think we have to get that new stuff too. But instead of coveting what others have, including the store’s stuff, we should develop gratitude and thankfulness for what we already have: the love of the Messiah.
A few times a year, with the proceeds helping a charity, I play a gabling type game knowing that the money is gone, and that there is no risk of winning. I also used to play poker every week with a great bunch of lads in the town I used to live in, but it was nickel and dime stuff, and no one really won more than another … well, perhaps Terry did. Yet, for some it becomes a trap, and thus it is easier and better to never do it than to start, only to then need to stop. I feel no temptation by it. If I ever felt an urge to gamble often or more—I would quit. Gambling has been responsible for destroying homes, careers, and marriages. As for the rarity of winning, very often those who thought they won large sums of money, actually won family strife, and bankruptcy. Better to be content with what you have, and be at peace with your family.
Job 31:24-28 shows us that putting our hope in wealth or environment is being unfaithful to Yahoweh. The money and time we gamble with could be used for the betterment of the family. However, if each of us really considered what we do with our money, we would see where our love is, and we would see that all of us are gamblers. We buy books, music, and films we have never seen, and order dinners we have never had. I pour weeks of time and money into a garden; yet, farming of any kind is the biggest gambling profession there is. We purchase house and health insurance that we may need, or may never need, and arrange trips where safety is not a guarantee. Gambling is often a snare that works to the devil’s advantage, either in trapping you in the cycle of thinking your big win is right around the corner, or in thinking it is altogether evil.
Stuff is just stuff. The peace of His Spirit cannot be bought, but if the gifts of Elohim could be purchased, then every atheist in the world would toil their whole life to buy them. Ah, but since they cannot earn it, they try to win a feeble replacement. Coveting, the desire of someone else’s gain, can be purchased in gambling, while Salvation is a free gift to those who love Him in return. The driving ambition of gambling is to win someone else’s money. Let us live by the Biblical principle of gaining wealth by honest means. Gamblers play the odds and hope to win by their alleged skill or luck, but, in the end, the house always comes out ahead. We must not tithe ten percent to Yahoweh, and ninety percent to the devil. Robbery from Yahoweh is not worth anything.
“And calling near His taught ones He said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those putting into the treasury, for they all put in out of their excess, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her entire livelihood.’” (Mark 12:43-44). Next time, do not gamble your money, but use it to give or send the whole Scriptures, quality food, and new clothing, to someone in need. There is no way for you to lose that money. There is no way this widow lost her coin, for it went to the desire of the Kingdom of Heaven.
When we exchange our mental ability and our physical efforts for money that will fade away, but do not do the same for the Kingdom of Heaven that will never fade away, we desire money more than Yahoweh. Money comes and money goes, but a gift to the Father, a prayer to the Son, and a simple, “I love you.” has never been lost. What value has money when compared to His Way? It has some value if used His Way, but apart from it, money comes and money goes and leaves nothing behind.
Moneylenders, along with advertisers, have taken advantage of this human weakness. One who continually covets will soon find himself heavily in debt, all because temptation masquerading as desires were allowed to dictate life. Thousands of homes have been ruined, and marriages wrecked, by the cloaked sin of coveting. Coveting has become, sadly, a far lesser known or seen sin. We must not allow our thoughts to determine how we react when we want something that we cannot afford or should not have. Coveting leads to long-term unhappiness, not to short-term happiness, as the advertisers would have you believe. Sin, after all, has but one reward.
We are tempted to worship money because it mimics everything promised in Yahoweh’s New Yerushalayim: happiness, health, peace, prosperity, but it provides only temporary imaginary versions of eternal blessings. “For we brought naught into the world, and it is impossible to take any out. When we have food and covering, we shall be satisfied with these.” (1 Timothy 6:7-8). … Ah, contentment. Therein lies true wealth.
Many Scriptures show Yahoweh blessing people with wealth or with poverty. Yahoweh blesses us with the ability to make earthly wealth, and some work harder and smarter than others, yet, I am not going to claim to know it all. While Yahoweh may call you to give all you have and become a full time servant, He may also call you to wealth so you can support those in need, thereby being a full time servant, who must fight the temptation of greed as much as we all do. “as sad, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having none, and yet possessing all..” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
I have had in my home only one box of hot cereal to eat, one change of clothes, and have been able put all my belongings in the front of my fifty-dollar car. Do you know what kind of car you get for fifty bucks? Right. One that was repossessed from someone who was poorer than me! (In truth, even at my poorest, I would never have claimed to be so. I have seen poverty. Even at my poorest, I was rich.) If you own very little, that is fine, but if you’re in a state of poverty then I am concerned for you. So what if you’re dressed in rags, for the Saviour will make you rich in Spirit if you give yourself to Him. For indeed it is true: what good does it do to gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Again, sin, after all, has but one reward.
If you have no garden, no lover, no mother, no food, no clothes, no health, and not much time, then say a prayer of great thanks that you have a Friend Who is gracious beyond words, and Who has blessed you and others in this life. A servant, a wife, a husband, a child, a pet, a tree, a car, a home, a thing, can more easily be coveted than you think. I encourage you all to consider the Words of Yahoweh. Let us talk of these Ten Words, these Ten Commandments, always, so that we may seek to keep our family’s hearts and eyes pure, and so our testimony remains stained with His blood, and not our own fruit. From the rich man whom the Messiah called naked, to Cain and Able, we see only two paths: The Lamb or our own self worth. Only One leads to us to Yahoweh.
Take the time to ponder upon the Great Word of The King above all kings. Find another to discuss the Ten Words with daily. My wife is such a blessing in that she too loves the Word, and desires to live by Him, and so we bless each other daily with conversations about Scripture. Find this. Seek it!
A happy nation, community, family, and church, has a balance of wealth, it does not have the upper one percent owning more than the lower ninety-nine percent, or anything of the like. Granted, I dream of the day that money disappears, and people live in care for one another pursuing activity that benefits self and others apart from financial reward. People live this, but groups deny its possibility. For a time. For a time.
The flower atop is not envious of the thorns beneath. Desiring, wanting, yearning, craving, wishing, hungering after, or coveting something, gains you absolutely nothing, but the Word is a whole other story. Yet, what is wisdom without action? Listen carefully! The cure for coveting is praying for, and acting upon, the desire for giving. Coveting will disappear, and in its place will be a love seven times the former size. Give to the widows, poor, and families in need, and you will find in your heart what real wealth is: the eyes of those in need being given gifts, thanking not you, but the King you serve.
“Two matters I have asked of You—deny them not to me before I die: Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my portion of bread; lest I become satisfied and deny You, and say, ‘Who is Yahoweh?’ and lest I be poor, and steal, and seize the Name of my Elohim.” (Proverbs 30:7-9).
This Commandment is more amazing than I at first had ever realized. It is like a foundation that upholds the other nine Commandments, for without coveting, what is temptation? If we obey this Commandment, a part of the Word Who became flesh, in the fruit of the Spirit, then we will no longer walk in the ways of the world. HalleluYah! HalleluYah.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Leviticus 19:17-18, Isaiah 55:7-9, Jeremiah 10:23, 6:13, Proverbs 22:7, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 6:24, Mark 7:20-22, Luke 12:15, Romans 8:4, Acts 5:3 2 Timothy 3:1-2, James 2:2-4, 4:1-3
