Daily Devotional | Covetous Hearts

Most of the letters written by the apostle Paul were written to address a problem in the church. The letter written by James is no different. In chapter 4, he points to division and disagreements within the body of Christ. James begins by asking, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” (v. 1).

The answer boils down to covetousness: “You desire but you do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight” (v. 2). I have often thought of the tenth commandment as the “invisible” commandment: “You shall not covet” (Ex. 20:17). Here’s why. Commandments 6 through 9 can be observed. “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (vv. 13–16). But the 10th commandment about covetousness is a matter of the heart that can produce murder, adultery, theft, and lying.

Rather than desiring what somebody else has, James says we should make our requests known to God (v. 2). Consider Jesus’ teaching on prayer. He says to His disciples, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:9–11).

Rather than coveting what others have—position, power, status, money, material goods—we should share our desires with our good Father and trust Him to provide according to His will. We can trust the Lord to provide exactly what we need. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (v. 10).