“Thou shall not covet,” Exodus 20:17

When I was growing up, like many people, I felt like the 10 Commandments were just God’s way of telling us what to do and in short, bully us. The older I get, the more I realize that the Commandments were not created to take life, but to actually give us life.

One of the Commandments that I was confronted by a few weeks ago on the middle school ski trip was, “Thou shall not covet,” or in more simple terms: "You should not want what others have or can do." You see, I wasn’t wanting others' ski equipment or clothing, but what I wanted was what they were able to do. When I was out skiing, I was watching others on the “train park,” aka the place people do jumps and tricks on their skis or snowboards. I wanted to have that ability. Now this doesn’t seem like a bad thing, but here is the thing: in wanting what they could do, I was not able to see and enjoy what I could already do. Because of this, I was not fully enjoying life.

Jesus reminds us of the importance of living into the life he created for us in John 10:10b: "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” This is why God gave us the Commandments, including, “you should not covet,” so that we could remember that all we have and are able to do, and enjoy them.  When I shifted my focus to God's Commandment while I was skiing, I was able to appreciate my skiing abilities and start enjoying skiing so much more than before. It makes me wonder what would happen if we spent time over the next ten days reflecting on each of the Ten Commandments and thinking about how God gave them to improve our lives. I wonder if we would start to experience more fully the abundant life that God came to give us?

Prayer: Lord, thank You so much for all You give me. I am sorry for not recognizing what You give me and instead focusing on what others have and can do. Help me not take for granted all of Your blessings so that I can enjoy the abundant life You came to give me both now and eternally. Amen.