Lord our God, help us to hear Your commands with understanding, to receive them with faith, and to obey them with courage, that Your name may be glorified in our lives, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Today we begin a series of sermons and House Group studies that will continue to Palm Sunday. We have an extended Lent theme in the Priory this year!
What is so important that we're taking so long over it?
If you've read the Priory Magazine or Weekly Leaflet, you'll know that it is the 10 Commandments. And that we'll be using J John's exploration - just10 - which doesn't only look at the Old Testament, but shows how New Testament teaching builds on the foundation, and fleshes out the framework, given in God's words to Moses recorded in Exodus chapter 20.
Since this is the first of the series, we'll begin by exploding a couple of myths about the 10 Commandments as a whole.
First myth: people say things like, 'The 10 Commandments are Jewish not Christian; Christians live under grace not law; New Testament not Old; Jesus did away with these ancient rules - we don't need to bother with them anymore'. Well, yes, there are things in the Hebrew Scriptures that are certainly not binding upon those who live under the New Covenant though Jesus Christ; the Levitical regulations about sin-offerings, skin impurities, and unclean food come into that category. But nowhere in the teaching of Jesus nor anywhere else in the New Testament, is there any suggestion that Christians can forget about the 10 Commandments. Quite the contrary.
Second myth: the 10 Commandments are like an exam-paper; you should only attempt 5 - choose the ones you like! Or more seriously, people say, 'If a few churchy people want to try to keep some of the 10 Commandments, that's up to you; but don't inflict these out-of-date ideas on the rest of us; they're irrelevant to the modern world.' If nothing else, as we go through this series with J John, I think we'll see that the 10 Commandments belong together and together they continue to be vitally relevant to 21st C individuals and society alike.
So let's get started with the 10th Commandment. "You shall not covet...".
Perhaps you're wondering why we're going backwards?! The just10 approach is to take them in reverse order, mainly because coveting is the motive behind breaking the other nine Commandments. Coveting is the 'mother of all sins.' We will lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery - all because we are coveting; because we want more; because the desires of our heart are focused in the wrong direction. Coveting is like seawater: the more we drink, the thirstier we become.
To quote Exodus 20 verse 17 in full: "You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour." My neighbour doesn't have an ox or a donkey; I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a slave; and I certainly don't covet his wife (though doubtless she's very nice); I do rather like his house, but I don't yearn to possess it and make it my own - so I haven't broken this commandment, have I?
Easy to trivialize, isn't it - but it's the last few words that catch me: "You shall not covet.... ANYTHING that belongs to your neighbour."
ANYTHING... In our Gospel reading, Jesus said, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions". (Lk 12:15)
That was Jesus' response to a family dispute about inheritance. Still today, how much covetousness comes to the surface over such issues. Today, more than ever, materialism - considering material possessions and physical comfort to be more important than spiritual values - materialism makes us covet, and coveting causes so many problems. Our yearnings exceed our earnings. We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like. Our shopping is governed by the 'see it, want it, got to have it' propaganda of the advertising industry. Then we get our bank statement or credit card balance, and we become worried and anxious. If money isn't a problem for you personally, you only have to read a newspaper, watch the TV or listen to the radio, to be reminded that financial worries are the number one problem for most people in the UK today. We're weighed down by it; weary of it; it wrecks our relationships, damages our health and robs us of our peace of mind.
The New Testament describes people who, eager for money, wealth, possessions, have "pierced themselves with many pains". But the Bible does not condemn wealth and possessions; nowhere does Scripture say that money is inherently evil. No. What it says - in 1 Timothy 6: 10 - is that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil". God is not opposed to wealth; He is opposed to the worship of it.
Jesus often spoke about money; 16 of the 38 parables Jesus told were concerned with money and possessions. Like the one in today's reading from chapter 12 of Luke's Gospel, which concludes with God's judgement on the rich fool and Jesus' straight-talking to us all: "So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God".
There's a third myth about the 10 Commandments that should be exploded at this point. Some say the 10 Commandments show a nasty side of God because they're too negative. Too much "Thou shalt not..." and not enough bright, positive stuff.
I don't think that's fair! When people are putting themselves at risk or in danger - for example of crossing the road in front of a bus, it doesn't help to say sweetly "It would be a jolly nice idea if you looked where you're going". The best thing to do is shout out, loud and clear, "No! Stop! Do not do that. Don't go there!" God, in His great love for His children, calls out to us, "Do not do that or you'll get hurt. Don't behave that way or you'll hurt other people." And, with every so-called negative Commandment, the Bible also provides plenty of positive encouragement in the other direction. When we turn away from coveting, the wonderful positive is that then we are on the way to real contentment.
The Bible says - again in 1 Timothy chapter 6 (v 6-8) - "There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these". So let's not buy into the mistake of thinking that having more will make us happy. True contentment is found, not in having everything you want, but in not wanting to have everything. Instead let's learn to be grateful for what we already have.
If you have food in the 'fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep - you are richer than 75% of this world's population.
If you have money in the bank - you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy people. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are in better shape than hundreds of thousands who will not survive until tomorrow.
If you and I are not experiencing the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, then we are more fortunate than 500 million people in this world right now.
But do we have an attitude of gratitude?
Gratitude helps us find contentment. So does giving.
Jesus spoke often about giving. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8 NIV). He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Our Lord taught His followers to be generous givers because He knew that giving is the antidote to the disease of covetousness. In our materialistic society, this is an antidote that must be taken very frequently. And, as CS Lewis wrote, this means more than "merely giving away that which we can afford to do without anyway."
Are we generous, sacrificial givers?
The Bible teaches us to turn away from coveting and hold on to contentment by being thankful for what we already have. Scripture challenges us to give generously and sacrificially, making other people, not our possessions, our top priority. God's Word also encourages us to see that the road to true contentment is found by those who recognize the limitations of wealth. Jesus said that it is useless to hoard earthly treasures for ourselves - things that are temporary - while neglecting to have a rich relationship with God - which is eternal.
J John puts it like this: he says, "Do not value money for any more than it's worth. Wealth cannot deliver all that it promises. Money can buy medicine, but it cannot buy health.
It can buy a house, but not a home.
It can buy companionship, but not friendship.
It can buy entertainment, but not happiness.
It can buy food, but not an appetite.
It can buy a bed, but not sleep.
It can buy a crucifix, but not a Saviour."
In his letter to the Philippians, St Paul wrote these words:
"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." (4: 11-12 NIV)
When we, like Paul, find our security in Jesus Christ, we find freedom from the chains of covetousness and materialism. When our heart's desire is to live for God and His Kingdom, we discover true purpose and fulfilment.
When what we treasure above all is our relationship with God in Christ and the enrichment this brings to other relationships, then we have found the way to deep and lasting contentment: inner peace and joy that no one and nothing can take from us - ever.
Mary Barr
Bible quotations are from NRSV - unless otherwise stated
For more information about J John's just10 resources on the 10 Commandments
see the just10.org website
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