17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17

Many scholars believe this commandment was well ahead of its time against the moral codes that existed. It was in the same direction of Jesus’ admonition to be careful about the thoughts of the heart. In that light, it expanded upon the seventh commandment about adultery and the eight commandment about stealing.

I live in a very wealthy suburb of Dallas. I’ve seen and heard Bible-believing Christians express their strong desires to have a bigger and better place, especially when what they have is more than adequate for their needs. It’s puzzling to say the least.

I think when you have a lack of vision or direction in your life, you turn towards the things of the world. Part of it has been because of the wealth of the church in America in general. Church leaders want more and more money to build education and sports facilties to do more ministry. Is it any wonder the parishioners are dissatisfied with what they have?

That’s ultimately what it is: dissatisfaction. We have nothing to challenge us, nothing to motivate us. We’ve become comfortable and complacent. Not everyone of course, but many.

Now that I’ve defined a problem, we need a solution. Probably we just need to take a trip back to the basics of the faith (Bible, prayer, fellowship).

And in the end, isn’t that what we should have been doing all along, the basics?