Westminster Shorter Catechism #81

Q: What is forbidden in the tenth commandment? 
A: The tenth commandment forbids all discontentment with our own estate, envying or grieving at the good of our neighbor, and all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his. 
James 3:14–16 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 

I think it's important to note this commandment doesn't just forbid dissatisfaction with what we've been given, but also envying and grieving at the good of our neighbor. To me, "grieving" is a strange word to use here. We usually think of grief as a proper response to great loss and sadness in our lives. We grieve when loved ones die, or when someone falls into deep, unrepentant sin, or when we or someone we know and love suffers some kind of tragedy. These are all right expressions of grief. But as the catechism points out, there's another kind of grief, a sinful kind of grief that actually flows out of our failure to keep the tenth commandment. We can actually be overtaken, overwhelmed with sadness and grief because we covet what our neighbor has. For anyone who has experienced the "right" kind of grief, that seems like a remarkable statement. It's hard to imagine that envy could lead us to feel the kind of deep and encompassing sadness we have felt when grieving in the "right way". 

Does the catechism go too far in using the word, "grieving"? Perhaps not. There are many cases throughout the Bible where envy has actually led someone to commit a violent act against another person (Ahab in 1 Kings 21, for example). We can look at our own world and see tremendous acts of violence committed against each other because of envy. Perhaps this is why Shakespeare referred to jealousy as "the green eyed monster". As the people of God, it's a monster we have to constantly fight and guard against, or else we risk finding ourselves being taken down a road that is truly grievous to ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, and to God himself. 

Westminster Shorter Catechism #80

Q: What is required in the 10th Commandment?
A: The tenth commandment requires full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his. 
Philippians 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 

Sometimes I think this commandment is the hardest one to truly keep. Our culture thrives on envy. We are raised in a culture that teaches us to never be satisfied with what we have. In fact, covetousness, the drive to have more than the next person, has in many ways fueled our society. We're constantly looking at what others have and think, "Why should they have X and not me?" We overlook so quickly how the Lord takes care of us day in and day out, becoming dissatisfied with his numerous good gifts, and why? Because our house isn't as big, our car not as new, our bank accounts not as full as the person next to us. And what does that lead to? It leads to us despising our neighbors. Yet this commandment does call us to find contentment in all situations, to be thankful in what the Lord has indeed done for us, and to again, love and be charitable towards our neighbor, regardless of the "income gap" between you. 

We need to keep perspective when it comes to this issue. Starr Meade says, "We can be content with our status in life because whatever we have is a gift from God and is more than we deserve." We all need to think about that when we start comparing ourselves to our neighbors, when we begin to feel covetousness and envy creeping into our hearts. We've been given far more than we ever deserve in this world, and even more than our material possessions, we as God's people have been given God himself! 

WSC Q&A #79

Q: What is the Tenth Commandment?
A: The tenth commandment is, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
Luke 12:15 And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

As we've seen consistently during our study of the 10 commandments, the commandments are not merely concerned with outward actions, but also the inward conditions of our hearts. If anyone has doubted that reality, then the 10th commandment should put those doubts to rest. Here we have a commandment that deals, not with external actions such as worshiping an idol, failing to keep the Sabbath, stealing, or murdering someone, but rather, here we have a commandment that deals completely with the inward condition of our hearts. Here is a commandment that deals fully with our thoughts, the lustings of our hearts, our own jealousy. Coveting is an action of the heart, and this command shows us that we are just as sinful on the inside as we are on the outside. 

Starr Meade writes:

When we know a person has murdered someone, we put that person in jail. When we know someone has stolen something, we put that person in jail as well. We all agree that murderers and thieves are lawbreakers. People often think they are law-keepers because they have never done anything that would send them to jail. They are not criminals so they must be good people. This is not how God sees it. God gave the law, "You shall not covet", for people who think they are good just because they have never gone to jail. All of us would have to admit that we have broken this law. All of us have been unhappy because we did not have something we wanted. We have felt jealous because of what someone else had or was allowed to do. God wants us to see that we all break this law. He wants us to know that even if this were the only law we had ever broken, we would be just as guilty as if we had broken every law there is.

WSC Q&A #78

Q: What is forbidden in the ninth commandment?
A: The ninth commandment forbids whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own or our neighbor's good name.
Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

From Starr Meade: 

God only speaks what is true. God created us to be righteous and holy. He created us to speak and to love the truth as He does. Adam sinned by listening to Satan's lie rather than obeying God's truth. As a result, all of us are born as sinners who love falsehood more than truth. When God saves us and causes us to be born again, He changes us so that we want to live for God and please Him. He gives us a new love for the truth. Christians show that God has changed their hearts when they avoid falsehood and speak only what is true.

I think what is important here about this commandment is that knowing, speaking, and loving the truth is not simply about being "right". It's not simply about knowing and proclaiming facts. It's about loving what God loves. It's about reflecting God's character in our lives. When we indulge in lies, when we slander our neighbors, when we discredit our own good name, what we're really doing is declaring that we "love falsehood more than truth". And to love falsehood more than truth is to love a lie more than we love God. If we are truly desiring to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and if we are truly desiring to love our neighbor as ourselves, then we will love and declare the truth, again not so that we can simply be "right", but rather, because we want to love God, and love the things that God himself loves. 

Westminster Shorter Catechism-Catching Up!

My apologies for falling behind with the catechism blog. Summer vacations off the grid and all that make it difficult to publish online blogs. This week's blog will be a catch-up as we finish the 8th Commandment and begin looking at the ninth. 

Q&A #75

Q: What is forbidden in the Eighth Commandment?
A: The eighth commandment forbids whatsoever does or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbor's wealth or outward estate.
1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

It is interesting that this catechism question assumes that not only can we steal from others, but also steal from ourselves. This seems to be a call for personal stewardship, living within our means, being responsible with the physical wealth that we're given. I wonder how often we think about the eighth commandment in these terms? Proverbs 21:17 says that, "Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves oil and wine will not be rich." This is a call to prioritize our wealth. Do we put our wants above our needs or the needs of others? If we do, if we squander our personal wealth away, we will find that we have not provided for our own needs, the needs of our families, or the needs of our neighbors, and in doing so we have failed to love our neighbor as ourselves. And this is indeed a type of theft. Not only does it rob our families or neighbors of physical goods, it also robs them of the love we are to show them. Again we see how these commandments are not merely addressing surface-level sins (in this case, the actual act of stealing from someone else) but is getting at issues of the heart. 

Q&A #76

Q: Which is the ninth commandment?
A: The ninth commandment is, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members on of another. 

God values honesty, and calls his people to live honest lives. Here we have a command about being honest concerning the actions and character of our neighbors. As we read through the Old Testament law books, we see that it is no small thing to bring charges up against another person. This command was given to remind God's people of the seriousness of charging a brother or sister of doing wrong. But it is also a reminder of the value God puts on the truth. Truthfulness, honesty, after all, is at the very core of who God is. Jesus Christ said of himself that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Bearing false witness against your neighbor does not only harm your neighbor, it does damage to the reputation of God himself because as God's people, we are called to live in a way the bears testimony to the character and nature of God. 

Q&A #77

Q: What is required in the ninth commandment?
A: The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man, and of our own and our neighbor's good name, especially in witness-bearing.
Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;

Reputation is important. Certainly as the people of God, we strive to maintain a good reputation with the world. That is not to say that we compromise on our beliefs, but it is to say that regardless of what the world around us may accuse us of, whether its hate, intolerance, etc., at least they can say that we're honest. This commandment calls us to guard our own reputation. But beyond that, it also calls us to protect the reputation of our neighbor. There are lots of ways of damaging our neighbor's reputation. Whether we're gossiping, passing on bits of news that we ourselves cannot verify as true, or flat out making up false accusations about another person, all of these things hurt and damage our neighbor, who we are called to love. And again, not only do these things damage their reputation, but they also damage ours, and in doing so, they damage our good Christian witness to the character and nature of God. 

I would just note, this commandment does not forbid us from making accusations against another person. It does not forbid us from calling out a neighbor, in love, when they are in the wrong. Part of loving our neighbor does indeed include holding them accountable. Love does not ignore wrong-doing. However, this commandment does forbid us from engaging in heinous acts such as gossip, slander, character assassination, or in the case of the church, side stepping the proper process for church discipleship and discipline. Our goal should never be to destroy the reputation of someone else.