Deo Gloria
Sermon for August 18, 2019
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Exodus 20:17
Theme: Be Content with What You Have!
It’s a scene from an old movie: Steve Martin is leaving his spacious, luxurious home for the last time. “My blanket, my favorite blanket—that’s all I need,” he says as he slowly makes his way toward the door. “Oh, and my paddle ball game. My blanket and my paddle ball game—that’s all I need. And the remote control. My blanket, my paddle ball game and the remote control—that’s all I need. And this chair—that’s all I need. My blanket, my paddle ball game, the remote control and this chair—that’s all I need. I don’t need one other thing. Oh, and…”
It was tongue in check, of course, a parody of the way people are in real life. But it wasn’t too far off, was it? How many times haven’t we thought that way ourselves? “If I just had one more thing, if I just had a cabin on the lake! That’s all I need. If I just had a new truck, like the one Tom has! That’s all I need. If I just had a new iPhone like Jenny! That’s all I need.” But will those things really make us happy?
This morning we’re going to learn a lesson about happiness and contentment, a lesson God wants to teach us in the 9th and 10th Commandments. The lesson could be summed up like this: Be content with what you have!
The first thing you notice as you look at the 9th and 10th Commandments is that they’re different from the rest. Unlike the other eight, the 9th and 10th Commandments are not directed at our actions. Instead, they focus on our thoughts and our attitudes. And the specific thought they both deal with is coveting. Coveting is having a sinful desire, a lust for something that doesn’t belong to us or something we shouldn’t have. It’s more than a casual “Wouldn’t it be nice if.…” No, it’s stronger than that, more intense and more selfish: “I’ve got to have one of those. I need it. I just won’t be happy without it.”
Your neighbor gets a new car and suddenly the one you have isn’t good enough anymore. “I’m gonna get rid of that ol’ rust bucket,” you say.
“But, Fred, it’s only 5 years old.”
“Yeah, I know, but it just hasn’t been running that well lately. And besides, the new ones are so much nicer and they come with Bluetooth compatibility and those review cameras and heated seats. Man, I can hardly wait. I think I’m gonna get a new car for Christmas.”
You see a stunning, new outfit at the store and suddenly the clothes in your closet seem old and drab. You’ve got to have that outfit. Your friend gets a new laptop, one that’s twice as fast as yours and can run all the latest games. And suddenly yours is old and out-dated, a piece of junk. And you complain to your parents and tell them how badly you need a new one.
That’s what it means to covet. And yes, coveting is a sin, in spite of what people might think. “What’s so bad about coveting?” they would say. “You haven’t done anything. You haven’t stolen anything from anyone. You’re only thinking about wanting something. What’s so bad about that?” We might think that it isn’t wrong until you do something, but that’s not the way God looks at it. Remember the 5th Commandment? Hatred is also wrong in God’s eyes, even though it’s only a thought. Hatred is murder in the heart. The same is true of lust, a sinful thought that violates the 6th Commandment. Yes, God is concerned about our thoughts, just as much as he is about our actions. Just as murder and stealing are wrong, so are hatred and coveting. They violate God’s will and bring his wrath upon us.
And yet, that isn’t the only reason God warns us against coveting. God also knows that that the things we covet will not last. In the book of Colossians we read the following:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.(3:1,2)
Why does Paul say that? Why does he urge us to “set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things”? Because earthly things don’t last. I imagine a few of you did some back-to-school shopping in recent weeks, buying new clothes, new backpacks, new folders, new pens, new pencils. Why? Where’s all the stuff from last year? It wore out, didn’t it? It got used up. The shoes don’t fit anymore. The zipper on the backpack is broken. That’s the way it is with earthly things. Clothes don’t last. Cars don’t last. Houses don’t last. Toys don’t last. Two seconds after you die, they won’t mean anything. Earthly things are only temporary.
Rather than focus our time and energy and our resources on acquiring more and more things that don’t last, God would have us focus our time and energy and attention on things that do. He would have us seek after eternal treasures: things that will last forever, things like forgiveness, peace with God, eternal life and salvation.
Secondly, God also knows the danger. He knows that coveting usually doesn’t stop with our thoughts. More often than not it leads to other sins. It leads to action. Look at what happened with David. When he saw Bathsheba bathing in the moonlight, he coveted her. He wasn’t content with just looking, even though looking itself was wrong. He wanted her. He wanted to sleep with her even though she was another man’s wife. So he sent for her and he did sleep with her. His thoughts led to action. Then, in order to cover up what he had done, he broke the 5th Commandment: he had her husband, Uriah, killed. And then once Uriah was dead, he took Bathsheba to be his own wife. And where did it all start? It started in his thoughts, with his coveting another man’s wife.
That’s how sin works. It starts in one’s thoughts, and then leads to action. James describes this process in the first chapter of his letter:
Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.(vv. 14+15)
Death—that’s where it all ends up. Through sinful thoughts which lead to sinful actions Satan would like to destroy our faith and trust in God. He would like nothing more than for us to covet material things and to put our love and trust in material things instead of putting our love and trust in God. In that way he can lead us away from God and destroy our trust in him. Remember what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy, ch. 6?
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. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.(vv. 9+10)
Have you ever dreamt about winning the lottery? $200 million! Imagine what you could do with $200 million! “Well, of course, I’d give some to the church and to charity too, but then I could buy that new boat I’ve always wanted and a new car and a cabin on the lake and a 4-wheeler and a snowmobile and, and…” Lynette Nichols won the lottery. She and her husband, Jimmy, won a total of $48.6 million. Lynette is now a recovering alcoholic and drug abuser. She has had three pacemaker operations since winning the jackpot. And she and her husband are now divorced. Lynette sums it up like this: “After winning the lottery, we had one month of good times and three years of misery. I’d trade it all for a normal life. It’s not worth it. Health and happiness is what I want.”
Rather than covet what other people have, God’s will is that we be content, that we be satisfied with what we have. After all, he knows what we need. He knows how much we need to provide for ourselves and our families. He knows if we really need a new car or if it’s just something we want. There is a difference, isn’t there? We may want all kinds of things—a new car, a new computer, a new kitchen, a new motorcycle, a new wardrobe. But do we really need them? No. As I said, God knows what we need.
And he gives us what we need. Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a home or a place to sleep at night? Are there any families here without at least one car? (Or maybe I should say at least two cars?) Is there anyone here who had to go hungry yesterday, who didn’t have anything to eat because they couldn’t afford it? Are there any children here who don’t have a bike or a scooter or a 3-wheeler to ride? Is there anyone here who doesn’t have at least one TV at home to watch? Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a pair of shoes to wear? A number of years ago at our synod convention we received three new church bodies into fellowship: one in the Ukraine, one in Latvia, and one in Nigeria. Many people who live in all three of those countries could have answered “Yes” to some of those questions. Many don’t have cars or TVs. Many don’t have shoes and their clothes are old and worn. Many struggle just to put enough food on the table each day. Indeed, God has been so good to us. You and I have everything we need…and more.
We have the best. We have the Lord. We know God as our dear Father. We know Jesus as our Savior. We know God’s amazing grace and mercy. We know our Savior’s love and forgiveness. We know our Lord is preparing a place for us. We know that when our lives are over, he will take us to be with him. Yes, we have eternal treasure, the riches of God’s mercy in Christ. In Psalm 73 it says: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you I desire nothing on earth”(v. 25). In Christ we have the best.
And God promises to take care of the rest. As I said before, God knows what we need. He knows when we need what we need. He knows how much we need of what we need. And he has a way of seeing to it that we receive what we need at just the right time. That’s his promise: to provide for us day by day and give us what we truly need. So it says in the book of Hebrews, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’”(13:5).
Are you content with what you have? Are you satisfied with the things God has given you—the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear? Or do you grumble and complain because God hasn’t given you more? Do you find yourself always looking for one more thing to make you happy? Are you happy for your friends and your neighbors when they get something new or do you become rather jealous and envious? I wish I could say I’ve always been content, but I haven’t. What was true of the other eight commandments is true of these two too: I have broken them. We have broken them. Here again we have sinned and done what is wrong in the sight of God.
Thank God for Jesus Christ, our Savior! He never coveted another man’s house, or his wife, or his car, or his camel. He never grumbled and complained because other people had more than he did, but was always content, always happy with what he had. Yes, Jesus obeyed the 9th and 10th Commandments, obeyed them the way you and I should have. And when he suffered and died on the cross, he paid the penalty for all our sins against these commandments, all our grumbling and complaining, all our dissatisfaction, all our coveting and our envy and our greed. How thankful we are to Jesus Christ our Savior!
So how do I express my gratitude to Jesus for all that he has done for me? By striving to be content; by recognizing that I already have the greatest treasure a person can have, eternal treasure in Christ; and by trusting that God will give me all I really need.
A while back I received an email from a friend. It’s entitled “Drinking from my Saucer.”
I’ve never made a fortune, and it’s probably too late now.
But I don’t worry about it much, I’m happy anyhow.
As I go along life’s way, I’m reaping better than I sowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.
I haven’t got much money, and sometimes the going’s tough.
But I’ve got loved ones ‘round me, and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings, and the mercies he’s bestowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember times when things went wrong. My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.
So, Lord, help me not to gripe about the tough rows I’ve had to hoe.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘cause my cup has overflowed.