Admiration, Aspiration or Avarice?

Sermon, March 26, 2000

Texts: Deuteronomy 5:21; I Timothy 6:6-12

We continue with our study of the Ten Commandments this morning, as we come to the final divine prohibition, "You shall not covet." In our day and age, "covet" is a bit of an archaic word; it is a word we rarely, if ever, use in daily speech. It is also a word rarely heard in our churches, for that matter, except perhaps when we're hearing sermons on the Ten Commandments! You may have heard about the second-grade Sunday school class studying the Ten Commandments. As they were ready to discuss this final commandment, the teacher asked if anyone could tell her what the last commandment was. Little Susie raised her hand, stood tall, and quoted, "Thou shall not take the covers off the neighbor's wife!" The Tenth Commandment prohibits what might be called a "secret" sin, it speaks of an inner desire rather than any outward action. No court of law will ever be able to produce evidence to convict you of coveting; no one can "prove" you are coveting. This command specifically pertains to the thought world, but by listing it in these Ten Commandments, the implication is that God specifically and intentionally puts a sin of the head and heart right up there on a level of seriousness with murder, adultery and robbery. In God's sight, what we think matters.

Before going on, I'd like to take a brief aside regarding the Judeo-Protestant listing and the Catholic-Lutheran listing of the Ten Commandments: As mentioned at the outset of this series, we all agree that there are Ten Commandments; unfortunately, they are not numbered in the Bible. Several contain more than one clause, and it isn't always clear where one ends and the other begins. The Roman Catholics and Lutherans combine what we consider the 1^st and 2^nd commandments into one, which leaves them one "short" at the end. We (along with most other Protestants and the Jews) consider "You shall not covet" as one command, the tenth commandment. The Roman Catholics and Lutherans consider it as two commandments, possibly in keeping with the listing in Deuteronomy 5:21 -- "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." For the Roman Catholic, Commandment Nine is "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife;" and Commandment Ten is "You shall not covet your neighbors goods/property." There is a sense of logic to this listing: after all, the sixth commandment forbids the act of adultery, the seventh forbids the act of stealing. Two separate commandments. Their two separate commandments on coveting forbid the thoughts that lead to those deeds...first the thought of adultery ("You shall not covet your neighbor's wife"), then the thought of robbery ("You shall not covet neighbors possessions"). This idea is not without warrant; indeed, as Jesus reiterates in the Sermon on the Mount, so much of the thought life is within the implied scope of the commandments. Also...it can be argued that the coveting of another's spouse is a much more serious matter than the coveting of replaceable property, things, possessions. Adultery is a very serious, devastating act, an act which has devastating repercussions in the home, the family, even the community. Adultery is also a very serious breech of honor, of integrity, and a devastating display of seriously deficient character on behalf of the participants. If someone covets and eventually steals something of your property, well, that property may replaced with relatively little upset and/or devastation to your life and the life of your children. It's not the same with the "stealing" of a spouse! To covet another's spouse is to entertain not only the most vile and destructive and egregious acts of covenant breaking, it is contemplating a "theft" that has disastrous effects for many, many more than just the two parties involved. So, it may indeed be argued that this is a different "level" (or, better yet, depth) of coveting than the coveting of property. However, we follow the traditional Jewish listing, which is more than likely based on the wording in Exodus 20. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." We aren't to covet anything that belongs to our neighbors, be it human, animal or inanimate. (Keep in mind the Exodus account is a direct dictation, if you will, of God's words; whereas Deuteronomy is the record of Moses' "review" of events... but, I'm getting sidetracked; let's get back to the main issue.) What does it mean to covet?

Covetousness is a healthy human desire that has gone unchecked. Covetousness is the very healthy human desires of admiration and aspiration overflowing its banks; it is admiration and aspiration which has flooded into avarice, a greed, menacing the well-being of others and the community. One can admire qualities or possessions or talents or successes of someone else and that is not in itself wrong. And that desire can serve as a healthy impetus to self-improvement and/or self-betterment; our admiration of another's lot can cause us to aspire to a higher level of achievement or success. However, coveting goes beyond admiration. For example, I knew that other men admired my wife. I had no problem with that; in fact, I should have wondered about my own tastes if other men didn't admire her! However, if one of those admirers had "overflowed" the boundary and started to desire my wife, I would have seen him through the door (through, not to); that is, if Ann hadn't, ah, decked him first (most women know when that boundary has been crossed, they have a sixth sense about it). It would have been one thing for a man to have admired my wife; it would have been quite another thing for a man to desire her for himself. That's the boundary between admiration and covetousness. It's well and good to admire what your neighbor has achieved or who he has married or what he possesses, and that admiration can lead to aspiration (as someone wisely put it, the way to get a better spouse is to be one...and to better love the one you have) but aspiration overflows (or, degenerates) into avarice when you desire your neighbor's spouse or possessions or achievements for yourself at the expense of your neighbor. That is covetousness, that is avarice, that is greed; that's a healthy human desire which has "overflowed the banks."

Another related form of covetousness is the attitude of envy which says, in effect, "He has that. I don't have it. I'd like it, but I know I will never be able to get it. It's not fair! If I can't get it, if I can't achieve it, then he can't have it either...I'll destroy it (or get the government to take it)." The arsonist with this envious mindset burns not only because he enjoys a maniacal thrill of dancing flames, but because he delights in seeing other people's property, hopes and tangible signs of success go up in smoke. Many of you may have seen Amadeus, an excellent motion picture that dramatizes the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The central figure in the film is Antonio Salieri, a composer who was a contemporary of Mozart. In the movie, Salieri is a man whose life is devoted to music. Early in the film, as a young boy, he prayed with all his heart, "Lord, make me a great composer. Let me celebrate your glory through music, and be celebrated myself. Make me famous throughout the world, O God, make me immortal...after I die may people speak my name forever in love for what I wrote -- in return, I give you my chastity, my industry, my deepest humility every hour of my life." So he makes this promise to God that he would devote his entire life to God if God would simply allow him to write sublime, inspiring, beautiful music. Well, Salieri's prayer is indeed answered. Salieri does write beautiful music, although it doesn't come easily...he puts in long hours and writes many rough drafts, but he eventually becomes a wonderful success at his chosen vocation. He earns a place as chief composer in the emperor's court; as he recounts in the film, Emperor Joseph II of Austria-Hungary "...adored my music. Everybody liked me. I liked myself...until he came."

"He," of course, is Mozart. Salieri hears the music of Mozart and recognizes gifted genius which is far, far superior to his own. "Music as I have never heard...such sublimity. Such longing. The very voice of God." Rather than admiring the talent and genius of Mozart, rather than aspiring to new heights of creativity and talent due to his encounter with and access to this one so gifted of God, something eventually snaps within the court composer's heart. "This giggling, dirty-minded creature...why would God choose such an obscene child to be an instrument?" He believes that God is mocking him through Mozart, that Mozart's laughter is God laughing at Salieri. Even though his prayer had been answered, even though he does have talent and fame and recognition, Salieri becomes obsessed with the fact that God would choose to bless this other who seemed less deserving, less serious, less diligent, than himself. Salieri rails against God: "I was given only the ability, only enough talent, to recognize this incarnation ... I will hinder and harm and ruin Your creature on earth." His admiration of Mozart's genius runs riot; he becomes obsessed with Mozart, and becomes obsessed with the desire to destroy Mozart. Salieri put his own composing career on hold as he obsessively sought ways to undermine the career of his perceived rival, and he does eventually succeed in his obsession. Mozart dies an early death in poverty and near-squalor, conditions which had been exacerbated by Salieri's influence and connections. However, as he comes to realize later in life, Salieri destroyed himself in the process. The entire movie is a tragic portrayal of the power of transgressed commandments to ruin others, as well as to ruin, corrupt and destroy a man's heart and soul. His envy and covetousness leaves Salieri an embittered, suicidal and delusional old man confined to an insane asylum.

At root, coveting stems from discontent of our own lot and envy at our neighbors. In the very little time remaining, I remind you of the words of Paul to Timothy: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction....and have pierced themselves with many griefs." This thought is captured in the bulletin insert entitled "A Summary of the Law;" which is excerpted from the Book of Common Prayer (1559), "Catechism for Confirmation." I'd like to read this in closing both this particular sermon as well as this series of sermons on the Ten Commandments, :

Q. What dost thou chiefly learn by these commandments? A. I learn two things. My duty toward God, and my duty toward my neighbor. Q.: What is thy duty toward God? A. My duty toward God is, to believe in Him, to fear Him, and to love Him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength. To worship Him. To give Him thanks. To put my whole trust in Him. To call upon Him. To honor His holy name and His word, and to serve Him truly all the days of my life. Q: What is thy duty to thy neighbor? A: My duty toward my neighbor is, to love him as myself. And to do to all men as I would they should do unto me. To love, honor, and succor my father and mother. To hurt nobody by word or deed. To be true and just in all my dealing. To bear no malice or hatred in my heart. To keep my hands from picking and stealing, and my tongue from evil speaking, lying and slander. To keep my body in temperance, soberness and chastity. Not to covet nor desire other men's goods. But learn and labor truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call me.

a Responsive Prayer

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Honor your father and mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet.