(excerpted from free indeed: devotions for Lent 2017, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis)
The Ninth Commandment:
You shall not covet your neighbour's house.
What is this? or What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we do not try to trick our neighbours out of their inheritance or property or try to get it for ourselves by claiming to have a legal right to it and the like, but instead be of help and service to them in keeping what is theirs.
To ponder:
"Isn't it amazing that we keep on going? That we keep on shopping for clothes and getting hungry and laughing at jokes on TV? When our oldest is dead and gone and we'll never see him again and our life's in ruins! We've had such extraordinary troubles," she said, "and somehow they've turned us ordinary." - Anne Tyler, "People Who Don't Know the Answers"
Neighbourliness:
There's a popular meme on social media: "Don't compare your inside to someone else's outside." It's fitting, because social media is a likely place for those comparisons to happen, but it's also not a new thing. When we covet our neighbour's house, we imagine their house is in good order. We picture it as cleaner, more put together, and happier than our own.
The truth is that our troubles, even the extraordinary ones, are pretty ordinary. In every house you will find some longing, some yearning for life to be different. You will find people grieving, amazed that regular life can even continue.
Do we dare to go to our neighbours' homes and ask them how we can help? Is there joy we can share that will make all households happier?
Prayer:
God, when my house is full of sadness, send me neighbours who can help. Send me as a neighbour to help others in need. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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