The tenth and final Commandment given to the children of Israel by our Lord God Almighty was “Thou shalt not covet”. Exodus 20:17 states “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”
Every person is born with a specific set of gifts and a specific calling given by Our Heavenly Father. In HIS Great Wisdom, HE put HIS plan in action and provided the gifts and callings to cause HIS plan to come to pass. Our part is simply to develop our gifts and operate in our calling. We each have a unique purpose and thus should not concern ourselves about what our “neighbor” has.
You should not seek your fulfillment in others’ successes and possessions. You have been endowed with the ability to operate in your calling, not the other person’s. When you seek to gain advantage over your neighbor or compare your successes to another, you are not fulfilling your calling. Instead, you are judging and creating division.
Inner accomplishment is the standard by which we should assess our progress, not by comparing ourselves to others. Each of us are at different stages of maturity, experience, knowledge, skill, understanding, and wisdom. When you compare your successes to others, you exalt yourself over the those who have not yet fulfilled their calling. Your ego will get you into trouble and separate you from communion with Our Heavenly Father. Many young couples have tried to buy houses and cars in an attempt to keep up with their peers and those purchases have created bondage and disaster in their lives.
External motivation will hinder your ability to recognize your calling or purpose in life. Envy over another person’s accomplishments or possessions will sway you to follow a path that separates you from your calling. Jealousy leads to destruction.
As you progress in developing your gifts and calling, your achievement provides a satisfaction and peace about your purpose. If you must compete, compete with your previous level of success, not someone else. As a cyclist, I ride around a nearby lake. My goal is not to outride other cyclists but to simply improve my time around the lake and/or improve my stamina and this increases confidence. When you compete with another person, you typically cause division and alienation. One is “lord” and the other is “servant”. The ego wants to dominate, the heart wants to serve.
We should enjoy the journey rather than just the end result. In our quest toward fulfillment there are benchmarks of achievement that provide encouragement that your are in the middle of your purpose.
The ego must be nailed to the cross for it is at war with the heart where love is centered. That spirit wanting to dominate others rather than to minister life must be dealt with. On a corporate level, the country must repent of its arrogance resulting from military and economic domination. We must pray for the anointed power and authority provided to those who are willing to immerse themselves in love rather than the conquering spirit that prevailed when Jesus walked the earth. We are not here to conquer mankind but to restore mankind to Our Heavenly Father.