dares, “Thou shalt not covet thy neigh bour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.” The thing that we, as God’s children, need to realize is that satisfaction does not come in the abun dance of things which we possess. As the old German woman admitted, “ ’Ve grow oldt too soon, and schmardt too late.” The Bible tells us that the secret of satisfaction for the heart is to “De light thyself also in the Lord;” ’ Psalm 37:4. And we are to delight ourselves in His Word. According to John D. Rockfeller, Sr., who answered a friend’s query as to when a man is rich enough — he said, “It is when he has just a little bit more.” That seems to be our motto and creed, “Just a little bit more.” But we are to keep ourselves from covetousness for our life consists not in the abundance of things we possess. Satan tried our Lord in this respect, for he said, “Bow down and worship me and all these things will I give you.” Our Lord refused for He was without sin. The Decalogue closes on a note of hopelessness for the human race for the Lord Jesus said, “Everyone that looketh hath already sinned in his heart.” You see, it does not take the act — just to look, to think, has become sin. When it comes to sin, the breaking of the Law — there is absolutely no dif ference between men, for all have sinned. In all other aspects — material, physical and spiritual, there is a differ ence between them. Some men are rich, some are poor, and many are endowed with great wisdom. But when it comes to sin, God’s Word tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Paul admitted that this sin of covetousness had been experienced in his own life but that he would not have known lust except the Law" re vealed it unto him — “Thou shalt not covet.” A young man argued with his pas tor as they drove down the highway—
“Who needs the Ten Commandments? Why pay any attention to them, they are too narrow. No one wants a hunch of ‘thou shalt nots’ thrown in his face all the time.” * “Why are those road signs of any importance — should they be there?” the minister ventured as he pursued, carefully, the logic of the discussion. “I note that each one indicates which way to turn, what our speed should be, or warns us of some danger. I wonder what right the division of highways has to tell us what is safe and what we must do — perhaps their orders are too narrow! ” “Oh, no,” the young man responded— ‘if they were not there we would not know where we were — we’d be lost.” “Even so, with the Ten Command ments, young man.” The Law does not save, it cannot, for “by the deeds of the law — the keeping of the law — shall no flesh be justified.” The minister then followed along with a clear statement of fact that the Law points out sin, and the blood of Jesus Christ alone redeems us! From the Annals of the Royal Ca nadian Mounted Police we have this story of two lost miners who were searching for gold. After months of si lence, their bodies were located — only skeletons remained. It was in the sum mer months when they were found. Near the hand of one of the miners was a pencil and on the table a tragic note which said in essence, “We finally found gold after long years of search ing. It was the dream of our lives; we would finally be millionaires. In an effort to get just a little more we failed to realize the severe weather conditions which had sealed us in this shack. Without ample supplies we are trapped and helpless, although we have all the gold one’s heart could desire. What good is it now?” Through this true narrative we can understand what God’s Word means when it declares “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? . . God’s forceful declaration is: “Thou shalt not covet.” 9
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