“Be Content in the Lord”
Exodus 20.17
It has been said that “contentment means wanting what God wants for us rather than what we want
for us. The secret to enjoying this kind of contentment is to be so satisfied with God that we are able
to accept whatever he has or has not provided…. As long as we base our sense of contentment on
anything in the world, we will always find some excuse to make ourselves miserable” (Phillip Ryken).
If God doesn’t bless your plans or give you what you want; if things don’t work out the way you
hoped they would… would you still be content with Him? If everything was taken away from you,
except Christ – would He be enough? Would you be content in the Lord?
In a general sense, covet means to desire; to crave something. In the context of the Tenth
Commandment, covet means “to crave, to yearn for something that belongs to someone else.” It is
desiring the wrong things, in the wrong way, for the wrong reason.
The problem is not desire itself, but the object of our desire.
Our problem is not desire. Desire is a good thing. We should desire certain things. However, because
of our sin nature, we take good things that God has given us & distort them. Our desires are
corrupted by sin. We desire things that we should not desire. We desire things in place of or more
than God. This is not a new problem. It goes back all the way back to the Garden of Eden:
Genesis 3.1-6: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God
had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the
garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall
you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the
eyes, and that the tree was to be desired [coveted] to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate,
and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
The sin of coveting precedes the sin of acting.
Just as we’ve seen in other commandments, our hands follow our heart. We sin internally (heart)
before we sin externally (hands).
This is what the Tenth Commandment is getting at: What do our hearts desire above all else? Where
do we find contentment?
As we look at the other commandments we may think that it’s all about external acts of obedience,
but then we come to the Tenth and that perspective is blown out of the water.
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After seeing the first nine commandments we may be like the rich young ruler in Luke 18 who said,
“All these I have kept.” But then when we hear Jesus say, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you
have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When
the rich young ruler heard this, the Bible says, he became very sad. Why? Because he was extremely
rich. But the young man’s wealth wasn’t a sin. His sin was his love of wealth. It revealed his heart – a
heart that desired wealth & possessions more than God.
The Tenth Commandment shows us that God cares about our desires just as much as our actions. He
calls us to find contentment in Him.
There is a reason the Apostle Paul refers to coveting as idolatry in Colossians 3.5. When we desire,
covet, worship anything more than or in place of God we commit idolatry. Idolatry is attempting to
find our ultimate joy & contentment in stuff in general. Coveting is attempting to find our ultimate joy
& contentment in other people’s stuff in particular.
The Tenth Commandment, like the other commandment and all of the Old Testament Law, points us
to Jesus.
In Luke 12.15 Jesus said: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
The things of this world can never give us contentment. Possessions cannot provide contentment.
Paul wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing
plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me…. 19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4.11-13, 19).
True contentment is only found in Christ. When we are content in the Lord we are satisfied with what
we have – whether much or little.
Three Points of Application
1. Be content in who God has given to you – His Son, Jesus.
2. Be content with what God entrusts to you – possessions, family, career.
3. Be content in where God plants you – your mission field.
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