South Woods Baptist Church

Desires under Control
Exodus 20:17
July 9, 2006 

      If we could sit in on the private board meetings of some of the major corporations in the world, I'm sure we would be both stunned and elated. Some of the revelations dealing with proposals, mergers, cash flow issues, policy, and personnel changes might affect the way that we view those companies. The language used in some settings might cause us to blush. The anger expressed by some or the greed evidenced by others, might leave us perplexed. But unless a "leak" of information comes out of the board meeting, the details remain hidden—at least for a time. Private meetings are supposed to be strictly confidential. Yet within time, the issues expressed in private begin to emerge in the various actions of the corporation. Private discussions of mergers hit the news and affect the stock market. Talks related to slashing personnel or promoting others eventually makes the business pages of the news. Unpopular policies affecting work relations are worked in detail in secret and then decreed by public action.

      What does a private board meeting have to do with desires? It serves to illustrate what takes place in the heart. Our hearts carry on regular musing and discussion and daydreaming that stoke the fire of desires. These inward discussions and plans are hidden to all. Before we ever take action—whether for good or ill, our desires work diligently to form plans that will eventually result in action. It's not that we act on every desire. Thank the Lord for that! Yet behind every action for the glory of God or the pursuit of sinful pleasure lies the desires that have been nurtured in the privacy of our hearts. We do have our "leaks" as well that give hint to some future plans forming toward action. It may be through a look or an exasperated tone or palpitating heart or sweaty palms. It may come through hints in conversation or lingering where we should not be or overly focused attention on some proposed idol to serve [I'm indebted for this idea to J. Douma, The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life, 342]. Desires incubate in the heart.

      In our study of the Ten Commandments, we've looked at specific actions that the Lord warns against. We're not to have other gods before us or to take the Lord's name in vain or to murder or to commit adultery. With each action, we've also noted that the biblical commandment speaks as well of the attitudes of the heart. But in the Tenth Commandment, one particular attitude affecting the other commandments is addressed. While the other commandments in the second table of the law (commands 5-10) deal specifically with actions, this one deals specifically with an attitude of desiring what does not belong to us by God's kind providence. It is an overt dissatisfaction and discontent with what God has provided, and a longing desire for what He has forbidden to us.

      Our desires must be under control if we would stem the pursuit of sinful actions. How do our desires affect our actions? Let's see how desires work and how they can be useful in pursuit of holy lives. 
 

I. Aren't desires natural?

      Absolutely; desires belong to the warp and woof of human nature. Last night you desired sleep. This morning you desired something to eat. After you walked in the heat of the summer sun, you desired to cool off. Nothing is wrong with desires unless they begin to fixate and plan to find satisfaction outside of God's provision and will. For instance, you desired to sleep, so you slept and woke up this morning, and attended church. But what if you desired to sleep, yet instead of getting a reasonable amount of sleep to refresh your body, you stayed in bed all day, neglecting the assembling of God's people, neglecting worship and the study of Scripture, neglecting responsibilities with your family, etc.? Then a perfectly good desire that could be satisfied with appropriate sleep led to negligence and laziness when fulfilled in ways displeasing to God's revealed will. "You shall not covet" addresses the entire realm of human desires. 
 

      1. Roots in the language

      To begin with, the word "covet" is used both positively and negatively. It is a "neutral word" ...that "only when misdirected to that which belongs to another that such 'desire' becomes wrong" [Derek Kidner, TOTC, 161]. The Hebrew word hāmad originally meant "be pleasant," expressing "desire, delight in." But the word further carries the idea of "covet, lust after" [Harris, Archer, Waltke, eds. TWOT, I, 294-295]. Psalm 68:16 uses the word to refer to "the mountain which God has desired for His abode" [my italics]. Psalm 19:10 tell us that the law of the Lord and His judgments "are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold" [my italics]. But the word is also used to express coveting, what one writer called "an 'inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire'" [TWOT, I, 295]. Brian Edwards states that the contextual meaning of the word in the 10^th commandment is "longing for forbidden fruit" [The Ten Commandments for Today, 256]. He borrows that definition from what is pictured in the Garden of Eden. Hāmad is used in Genesis 2:9 to refer to "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food" that the Lord created, as well as Genesis 3:6 when Eve looked upon the forbidden fruit and "saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate" [my italics].

      So the word can be used in good contexts, such as desiring the Lord or delighting in obedience. Or it can be used in evil contexts as when one covets or desires or lusts after something that God has forbidden for him.

      Notice that the command clarifies the meaning of the word "covet." "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Again, as with the previous commandment, the use of the term "neighbor" reminds us that we are not an island; that we are related to others both in the immediate community of relations and beyond. God was not forbidding one having a house or a wife or, in that ancient context, a servant or farm animals or other things. Rather the prohibition involved desiring or longing for what belonged to one's neighbor. At the heart of this sin is the unwillingness to be content with what God in His kind providence has provided for you. 
 

      2. Particular areas affecting us

      If we break down the areas of this 10^th commandment, we see that it touches everything. Brian Edwards has identified a number of common areas of coveting that we find in this commandment [256]. To covet a man's house is to desire his security; to want what he has that causes him to feel secure in life. It might be his literal house or it might be his position in the company or it might even be his family and their standing. To covet a man's wife is to desire his marriage. That breaks the 7^th commandment, and as Jesus warned, even if it is only in the realm of desires we've already committed adultery in our hearts (Matt. 5:27-28). How many homes have been destroyed that began with what some considered "innocent" daydreaming? To desire a man's male or female servants is to desire his leisure, since the existence of such servants enabled an ancient to spend time at the city gates in leisure activity. Is this not an area where we easily succumb to coveting? We see someone's recreational activities or hear of his travels or see pictures of his trip to some exotic place, and then covet in our own hearts, wishing that it had been us rather than the other. To covet his ox or donkey is to desire his wealth, work, and status. A man in the ancient world was known by the amount of his livestock. When the prophet Nathan sought to convey a particular image to King David as a rebuke, he compared Uriah to the poor man who had only one little ewe lamb. Here the longings of the heart to have more things, to have someone else's job, and to achieve a certain standing in society move from sanctified desires to coveting. Just in case anything might be left out, the Lord added, "or anything that belongs to your neighbor." In other words, coveting or uncontrolled, ungoverned desires can touch any area of life, so we must guard against it.

      Some in both ancient and modern worlds have misunderstood this commandment. In zeal to guard against coveting, they have taken vows of poverty or laid aside all earthly goods even to the point of living a monastic lifestyle. Yet none of these things in themselves are evil or forbidden. Rather it is when we find dissatisfaction in what God has provided, desiring instead, to have what He has given to another, that coveting snares us. Jesus warned, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed [coveting]; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). It is the devilish scheme to convince us that if we can only have what someone else already has, that life will be wonderful. It is the mistake of thinking that satisfaction in life is found in stuff and experiences rather than being contented with the Lord and what He has provided. Does this mean that we can never want another thing in life? Certainly not; rather we are to so guard our hearts and desires that we seek to have them sanctified before pursuing illusive pots of gold at the end of rainbows.  
 

II. Why be concerned with our desires?

      Desires are the stuff of which plans and actions are made. They can be beneficial, as when we think through about a project at work or make plans to serve others in Christ's name. Our consideration in this study is certainly not to stifle desires—that's really impossible—but rather to bring them under the control of the Holy Spirit and direction of the Word of God. Since "coveting is not what we do," as Brian Edwards has pointed out, "it is what we plan to do, what we want, what we dream about," then we must seek to bring our desires under God's control [253]. "'I want, I plan, I do' is the invariable order of human activity," so we must take care to get our "wanting" in check. 
 

      1. Heart issue

      Since desires begin in the heart and then inform the rest of the mind for planning and potential action, then we must guard the condition of the heart. Jesus spoke clearly about this. After rebuking the religious leaders for their hypocrisy in making a huge ordeal of ceremonially washing their hands but neglecting their sinful hearts, He gave a little parable. "Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man" (Matt. 15:10-11). Peter didn't understand, so he asked the Lord to explain. "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders," that is, the very things we've been considering in the 6^th through 9^th commandments. "These are the things which defile the man," Jesus said, "but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man" (Matt. 15:17-20).

      Ahab coveted Naboth's vineyard; that led to murder. David coveted Uriah's wife; that led to adultery. Achan coveted Babylonian garments, silver, and gold; that led to stealing the things under the ban in Jericho. Saul coveted the applause of God and man; that led to repeated lying. Where did the coveting begin? It started in the heart. "Watch over your heart will all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).  
 

      2. Holiness matters

      Aside from the heart being involved in coveting, when we fail to curb the desires of the flesh and give way to nurturing sinful desires in our hearts, then we falter when it comes to holiness. God's people are called to holiness. "You shall be holy, for I am holy," says the Lord (1 Pet. 1:16). We see this illustrated from Genesis through Revelation. It means that we are set apart to the Lord; that we belong to the Lord and our behavior demonstrates it. Peter prefaces that command by pointing to the matter of our desires. "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts [desires] which were yours in your ignorance [that is, as unbelievers without the knowledge of God], but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior" (1 Pet. 1:14-15). The pursuit of holiness is not for merit, as though by a certain lifestyle we gain God's favor and find acceptance with Him. We're accepted because of Christ our Redeemer who stood in our place to bear God's judgment against us at the cross, and exchanged our unrighteousness for His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Rather, holiness befits us as God's children. As the Lord is holy, so also are we to be in all of our behavior, Peter tells us. Holiness in practice begins by attentiveness to what is happening in our hearts and desires.

      Obeying the Ten Commandments does not make you holy. You are holy because of Christ and His righteousness. Yet holiness is not just to be positional but the actual practice of our lives, now that the Holy One indwells us as believers. The Ten Commandments gives us a clear guide to understanding what it means to be set apart to the Lord in the way that we live our lives. The 10^th commandment speaks directly to holiness in the heart. Even a pagan understood this. A tribal chief among the Indonesian people known as the Toradjas declared, "I would rather have the 7777 commandments and prohibitions of the Toradja Adat than the Ten Commandments of the Christians, for the Ten Commandments demand my whole heart, whereas the 7777 ancestral commands and prohibitions leave room for a lot of freedom!" [Douma, 352]  
 

III. How can we guard our desires?

      We see many different portions of Scripture that give us some clear guidelines for guarding our desires. I want to focus our attention on Ephesians 5:1-21, identifying eight actions to help us deal with the motives and desires that germinate in our hearts, to produce godly behavior.

      (1) Remember whose you are. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." Here we find our contentment in the Lord, belonging to Him, and receiving from His hand (cf. Philippians 4:8-19). If we are to imitate Him, then we must think much upon Him. And if we are to think upon Him rightly, we must devote ourselves to His Word and the revelation of what He has called us to be as Christians.

      (2) Walk in love even as Christ displayed love in His sacrificial death on the cross. Here love is cross-centered and cross-shaped. To walk in love implies the way that we live toward others. It calls for us to nurture our heart attitudes displayed toward others. Do we have pockets of hatred, bitterness, or anger lurking in our hearts? Then look to the death of Christ. See how "Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (5:2). And so "let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (4:31-32). See the weightiness of your redemption through Christ. Think upon the eternal life wrought by His death. So, therefore, forgive those who have offended you in the temporal since Christ has forgiven you for eternity.

      (3) Pay attention to your tendencies to sinful behavior. Be honest with yourself. Read what God's Word has to say about particular sins that affect you. Ponder His assessment and make it your own. Note how Paul exhorts, "But immorality or any impurity or greed [here's coveting] must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints." Then he repeats it, adding a more striking warning. "For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (5:3, 5). That kind of behavior marks the unregenerate man, so don't let it find lodging place in your heart. Die to such sinfulness.

      (4) Consider regularly God's displeasure and righteous anger against even the desire for sinful behavior (5:6). "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

      (5) Recognize that such sinful behavior in thought and deed characterizes those under God's wrath. So, "therefore do not be partakers with them" (5:7). Remember what you were before Christ—"for you were formerly darkness"—and what you are now in Christ—"but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light." And what does this Light mean? "For the fruit of the Light [the result of the Holy One in you] consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (5:8-9). Knowing that you have not arrived, pursue godliness, "trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord" (5:10).

      (6) Regularly expose your own heart to the light of God's Word and the accompanying illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (5:11-14). Here the exhortation warns of trying to cozy up with sin: "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." An unguarded moment can ensnare you, so discipline yourself regarding what you watch, listen to, talk about, think upon, and participate in. "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light" (5:13). There's really no secret formula for living a Christian life. Walk in the light. Sing the old hymn the early believers used as a reminder. "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (5:14).

      (7) Pay attention to your Christian walk. Here the language is so simple and clear. "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil" (5:15-16). Be wise rather than going the way of the foolish that would rebel against God and follow the world. "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (5:17). God's will is always a life conformed to Holy Scripture. Even the way that you use your time will serve as help or hindrance. "Take time to be holy," as the old hymn reminds us.

      (8) Live daily under the control of the Holy Spirit rather than being controlled by the intoxicating influence of the world (5:18). That's what it means to be Spirit filled—under the Spirit's control. Five evidences of the Spirit controlled life work to affect your desires and actions.

      a. Speaking the exhortations of truth to one another ("Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs")

      b. Singing unto the Lord ("singing... to the Lord")

      c. Maintaining a joyful spirit ("making melody in your heart to the Lord")

      d. Regularly giving thanks to the Lord ("always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father")

      e. Deferring to one another with an attitude of love ("and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ"). 
 

Conclusion

      The Tenth Commandment is a reminder that all of us are sinners in need of a Savior, since each of us struggle with sinful desires in the heart. It also reminds us that as those redeemed by Christ, we are never to presume upon the way that we live our lives. We are to seek to guard our hearts from sinful desires. Take action. Live under the Spirit's control the kind of disciplined lives that seek to guard the heart and therefore, deal with desires for sin at the roots.