Sermon by Rev. Ray Silverman

Sermon: The commandment against coveting is divided into two parts. The first part deals with not coveting our neighbor's house. In this part of the commandment the Lord speaks to us about the inordinate longings to possess worldly riches. He calls us to trust in Him, to rely on a treasure that will not fail, and to realize that it is His will to give us His kingdom. He assures us that He is in every least thing that happens, and that every occurrence – no matter how tiny or insignificant it may seem– can be used for our eternal wellbeing. Even though it rains on the day of the big parade, even though the long drought ruins the garden, God is still in complete control of the universe, giving us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Though our life often seems chaotic, fragmented and un-plotted, we are being carefully led by the Lord. Everything that happens to us at every moment is part of a most perfect arrangement of events, organized to lead us to heaven. Emanuel Swedenborg tells us that the least things of all, down to the least of the least, are directed by the Lord’s providence. Not a hair falls from the head without the will of God. Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

The Lord indeed is in total control of His universe, leading us perfectly at every moment. He cautions us not to be anxious, and to beware of covetousness. He asks us to work, to pray, to strive, but not to covet. He asks us to trust that He will provide for us. To the extent that we believe this to be true and act accordingly, we can be delivered from one of the two most evil loves, the inordinate desire to possess the things of the world. It is called simply the love of the world.

We now move on to the second part of the commandment, even more diabolical than the love of the world. It is called the love of self, and is related especially to the love of ruling over other people. According to Swedenborg, this love of ruling eagerly desires to subject another person to one’s own authority and bidding. Today we sometimes see this as the desire to control other people’s behavior, to get people to conform to our wishes, to sing our songs and dance our dances. Preachers may be so convinced that they are right that they thunder from the pulpit, denouncing all who do not agree with them. Wives may use heavy persuasion and persistent nagging to get their husbands to do their bidding. Husbands may use force and threats to bring about the submission of wives. Wherever the love of ruling is active, there will be a struggle for power. There will be heavy persuasion, manipulation, and deceit. Whether it be intimidation through screaming, or more subtle forms of coercion, it is a war, a power struggle, a contest for control over another person’s life. Swedenborg calls it the love of ruling from the love of self. It is the most interior and destructive form of evil known to humanity. It is the root of all other evils.

In this final commandment we are given an opportunity to understand it, to see how it works, and to pray for the power to root it out of our lives. The first part of the commandment deals with our inordinate longing to possess the things of the world. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” But this second part takes us deeper. It takes us within the house and tells us not to try to possess or gain control over the things we find there. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Here, the inside of our neighbor’s house refers to the mental processes that take place in everyone’s mind. The wife in sacred scripture refers to that part of the mind where our deeper loves reside. Whatever we love the most is called "the wife." The manservant and maidservant are the part of the mind that includes our thoughts (manservant) and feelings (maidservant). Then come the ox and donkey, the level of obedience, of just performing physical functions.

In this final commandment we are urged not to covet our neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is our neighbor’s. The Lord knows that it is human nature to want to be right, to want people to accept our views, our opinions and perceptions of reality. Most of us tend to think it would be nice if everyone conformed to our wishes and expectations. We want people to love what we love ("wife"), to think and feel in the ways that we would approve of (manservant and maidservant), and to do what we want them to do (ox, donkey).

Parents, for example, often have a hard time accepting the fact that their children have their own ways of thinking. Young people want to make up their own minds and live their own lives. Many wonderful family relationships are broken and people are wounded because this commandment is not observed. We are not to covet what goes on in other people’s minds. Of course we are to share the good news of the Lord’s Word with others, but we are to avoid the desire to control the way another person thinks. We shall not covet our neighbor’s wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, donkey, or anything that is our neighbor’s.

But don't we still need some form of control? There is no questioning the fact that we need political institutions to maintain order in a nation. We also need religious institutions to preserve and propagate the Word of God. But we need to remember that although there are positions of responsibility that people occupy on earth, we are all equal under God. According to Swedenborg, in heaven no one acknowledges in heart anyone above himself except the Lord only. As the angel said to John on the isle of Patmos, “Do not worship me. I am your fellow servant and of your brethren. Worship God!” (Revelations 19:10) Jesus warned us that the deadliest intent of the devil is to captivate our minds and fill us with the cruelest lusts, to inflame us with the desire to possess the things of the world, and to rule over the minds of men. All in hell know one kind of relationship: master and slave. But Jesus said, “No longer do I call you servants, but I have called you friends.” (John 15:15)

Jesus came to give us the truth that can set us free from servitude. “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) He came to redeem us from hell, to liberate us from captivity. He is the Lord our God Who has brought us out of the house of bondage. He has given us the Ten Commandments, a divine guide for living as we journey toward the Promised Land. They teach us the truth about our relationship to God and our relationship to our fellow man. Above all, they tell us what tendencies in ourselves we must avoid if we want to inherit eternal life. But along the way we make an amazing discovery. We realize that although we may be able to control our outward behavior, although we do not murder, commit adultery, steal or lie, the desire to do these things still remains. This is why coveting is the final commandment, for it goes to the root of our deepest evil: the love f controlling others.

In this regard, Swedenborg tells us that the inmost secret of angelic wisdom is that a person is led and taught be the Lord alone (DP 172:6). Therefore, we need not worry about others- what they love, what they thin and feel, or what they do. As the Lord said to Peter in the final words of the gospel according to John when Peter asked about another disciple, "What is that to you? You, follow me." In the end, this is what it means to enter into life- to follow the Lord Jesus Christ by keeping His commandments.