Elective Surgery
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Deuteronomy 5:21
Covet / Desire – Heart surgery is a really bloody operation. No matter how well prepared we are, it’s dangerous, painful and life threatening. God’s operation to bring about a new heart with the right attitude vocabulary is no less difficult. The old heart has been pumping those desires into your bloodstream for a long time. It’s addicted to the lust-rush. Withdrawal is not easy. But you’ll die unless you go under the knife.
If you could simply retire to a nice, quiet hospital, well-equipped with the best technology, your chances of survival would be greatly increased. But God does His surgical heart transplants on the battlefield. Paul describes the triage center very well. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Did you understand? Weapons based in commonsense warfare are useless in this fight. Self-help regimens, external restraints, venue changes and protective mantras are ineffective. You are at war with yourself, and until the enemy is destroyed, the war will never end. The battleground is beyond the range of any instrument of the world’s arsenal. If God doesn’t wage war with you and in you, defeat is inevitable.
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” says Paul. Anyone who has tried to deal with the inner monsters of desire knows how true this is. It is by God’s grace that Paul quickly adds, “for it is God who is at work in you.” Without Him, the battle is lost. Fortunately, God’s armory is equipped for just such warfare. Fortunately, Paul is not Greek, for although he implores us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, he takes a decidedly Hebrew approach to this task.
That means that actions come before words and deeds come before thoughts. I don’t control my mind by thinking about it. The “fight-fire-with-fire” mentality only burns everyone. I obey the tenth commandment by acting with benevolence toward my neighbor at cost to myself. I put into play the very opposite of what my unbridled thoughts suggest. Do I desire to use someone for my own satisfaction? At the moment I realize this, I begin to pray for God’s grace and well-being to flood that life. If I can act with mercy and compassion toward that person, I do so. Do I lust for my neighbor’s house? I go buy him something he needs to make it more beautiful. Do I crave his car? I volunteer to caringly wash it for him. Am I envious of his job? I find some loving way to congratulate him on his success. In other words, I act against my own grain, serving my neighbor in proportion to my coveting. And God does the surgery.
The tenth commandment is not an exercise in mental gymnastic control. It is a call to action. Try it. You might be surprised.
Topical Index: Commandments, Covet
