No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's. Exodus 20:17 (MSG)
Long before David Letterman, there was God. And, from the home office on Mount Sinai, God delivers his own top ten list of rules to live by.
A couple of observations/confessions from this particular rule breaker:
- As I run through the list it's funny how the rules which I easily obey without forethought (e.g. "Do not murder") seem to be the most important ones on the list, but the ones with which I tend to struggle (e.g. "Don't set your heart on something someone else has" or "set aside a day to rest each week") feel like they belong at the bottom of the list in priority. Hmmmm. [scratching head]
- I find that the childish way I played "the letter of the law" with my parents (e.g. "I know you said be home by midnight, but it was midnight on the west coast – you didn't specify a time zone!") creeps back into my heart and mind. God doesn't want me setting my heart on my neighbor's donkey – no problem. Just for the record, God did not specify my neighbors home theatre with 52 inch flat screen, late model luxury sedan, or iPhone.
- I find that I like to interpret the rules literally when it suits my purpose and gives me a smug sense of self-righteousness (e.g. "Don't murder") and conveniently ignore Jesus' reminder that the spirit of law is just as important to consider (e.g. "Calling someone an 'idiot' is a form of murder).
Ouch.
Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and rob sheridan
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