You shall not covet your neighbor’s property. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
The Hebrew word “covet” carried more weight than simple envy in this context. At that time, the Nation of Israel still suffered a tremendous amount of superstition common to that part of the world. For example, the notion there was only One God was revolutionary, and Hebrew people as a whole never quite embraced that until after the Exile. In this case, the concept of covet included a background of what we would call petty black magic, where one might seek to employ the likes of “the evil eye” to bring harm to someone they envied or despised for any reason.
We know today the reality of such things as God viewed it. Someone obsessed with the property or comforts of another would give room to Satan and his demons for all sorts of mischief. The Suzerain was demanding His people keep their spiritual doors locked against evil by simply learning to accept their lot in life, trusting Him for all their needs.
The mystical lesson is obvious. God alone, through His Spirit, can prompt people to fight circumstances. However, we do that only for the most other-worldly purposes. We don’t fight with the expectation of winning, but we fight because God commands it, regardless of the outcome. When it comes to mere personal property and creature comforts, this should be the last thing we care about. Under His Laws, whatever is really needed for His purposes is always provided quite generously. Under His grace, we outgrow the concern for such things and take what comes as our basic assumption, and fight it only when we can’t avoid it.
Wanting stuff is the root of all sorts of evil. Taking offense at someone else’s relative prosperity is sin by definition. You should rather rejoice with them in their good fortune, and celebrate the simplicity of your own life. If you are on the lower rungs of material prosperity, thank God for the lack of complexity, and get on with serving your Master.
