Q. 79. Which is the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment is: You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or his donkey, or anything which belongs to your neighbour.[a]
Q. 80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment requires full contentment with our own condition,[a] and a right and charitable attitude toward our neighbour and all that is his.[b]
[a]. Psa 34:1; Php 4:11; 1 Tim 6:6; Heb 13:5
[b]. Luk 15:6, 9, 11-32; Rom 12:15; Php 2:4
Q. 81. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment?
The tenth commandment forbids all discontent with our own state;[a] envying and grieving at the good of our neighbour, together with all ungoverned longings and desires for things that belong to him.[b]
[a]. 1 Cor 10:10; Jas 3:14-16
[b]. Gal 5:26; Col 3:5
Comment on Q. 81.
We are to seek to please God in everything we do. Covetousness comes from not being satisfied with what God has given us, and anxiously and eagerly seeking to get more however we can, even though we may stop short of actual theft. Envy and jealousy, sinful wishes, desires, and motives, constant complaining – these are sins which need God’s forgiveness.
