"You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife,...."

Covet:
1. to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: 2. to wish for, especially eagerly

*Covet means "to have a strong desire for." Coveting was not merely an appreciation of something from a distance, but an uncontrolled, inordinate, selfish desire. This tenth command governed an internal matter: the sin of coveting occurred in the mind.....
 **The bible says "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (philippians 4:8)

I've been wanting to write about this 10th commandment for awhile now. Mostly because I, myself have dealt with it. Matter of fact, I think we all have dealt with it before. In this day & age, social media is everything! We all want to be heard, liked, commented on, favorited, followed, & retweeted! The problem with this is that we can only see a glimpse of people's lives. More than not, that glimpse is when we're on top & at our best. Few people post about their miserable lives, unattentive husbands and misbehaved kids! Few. 

   For God to include this in His 10 commandments speaks volumes! And my, my, my how timely is it in our days. Facebook (among others) can be a major blow to anyone's journey to contentment. God says He knew us all before we were in our mother's womb. He has created us for HIS glory meaning He has a purpose for everyone! Which is to love Him, serve Him & help others to do the same. No two people are the same & no two people have the exact same calling! 

That means that my husband & children were called for me and me only. Our joys and our struggles were allowed by God in order to bring forth more purpose in our lives. So with sites like facebook, people are often bombarded with the better aspects of people's lives. All up & down our newsfeed are pictures of beautiful, mannered children, hand in hand couples, devotions to our "perfect" spouses, and awards for having the best mom & dads! At one point, it will cause you to start to wish you had what you see.

I think this is one of the biggest drawbacks to social media. It cause more people to be discontent with their lives. And it will rob you of your joy. It can be the simplest things too. Thoughts like:I want that many friends," "I need more followers," "Why can't my husband praise me more like hers does?" " Lord, I want a ministry like theirs," "why are so many ppl drawn to their posts?" "they have the perfect family!" "If only I have what they have-they're best friends," "she has the perfect body!" "they always hear from God" etc etc! 

Sadly I think God is shaking His head down at us like my dear child I HAVE blessed you beyond measure! I love you-I know the plans I have for you!

In our rough times, we gaze at pictures of smiling couples, job promotion statuses, family vacation albums & we get bitter. We wonder why we're struggling in our pit & they have it better than us. What is wrong with me we often ask. Like I said, I know because I've been there. 

I've felt so low in my life & instead of drawing nearer to God for affirmation I got on Facebook & began to covet other people's lives. I wished I had a ministry, I wished my husband did what hers did, and I wished I wasn't in the place that I was in. In those pity party moments I failed to realize that 1. God is ALWAYS in control 2. My Life race doesn't look like everyone else's and 3. I'm only seeing the good times in everyone's lives!

Nobody's life is perfect & it's hardly ever what it appears to be. People present their best to the world. The times they worked out, ate right, was surprised by hubby, heard from God, prayed all night, got along with family, got promoted, or done cool things with their kids. Few people will actually talk about their failures & disappointments; Loneliness & outrage.

God has purpose in our imperfections. What we may see as a very flawed life, He sees as opportunities. Opportunities for Him to grow & mature us. If He gave us the perfect life, we would run around here thinking we don't need Him. If our marriages were exactly what we wanted & needed all the time we would take our spouse for granted & not value the work it takes to walk together. 

We have to remind ourselves that God knows our heart;He knows intimate things that we do not even know! And therefore, He knows the best ways to bring about character & integrity; Christlikeness. We all have lots to work on. If He allows hard times to fall, then maybe we'll learn to lean on Him more. We'll look to Him more often & find a healthy place of dependency.

I hope this all makes sense. I don't mean to get off track lol. I really just want us to appreciate our beautiful messes as they come. I want us to stop desiring what everyone else has & start appreciating what God has for us. God is the dealer; trust that He did not misdeal! Your friends on facebooks should not be your standard of what a good life looks like. (we all have our good & bad) 

Let me be 1 less person you have to wonder about lol...Don't wish you had my family. God has better for YOU :) When you see my family pictures, remember this: our smiles are just the end result of the labor that went into our family. The smiles are because God has gotten us through some rough, rough times and thank God we can all be smiling together! 

There were lots of tears before there were smiles. I do not take my marriage for granted because at any time we could have walked out.  And please don't wish you looked like me lol, I have many flaws! I say this in love. I work hard for my health, none of it was handed to me. It's an ongoing struggle, but it's mine & I'm overcoming :) 

Instead of coveting, start rejoicing with people. Life is hard for us all. We can all be "on top" & we can all be down low. Don't let Facebook be used to distract you from God's blessings for you.

**The Bible says "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
--->Therefore, you know everyone else's life isn't better than yours. You aren't the worse off, and you're not a victim! Think on those things which are TRUE, which is God Loves you. He created you & He made you wonderful and perfect. You can have Joy through Him. Let YOUR life story (the good, the bad, & the ugly!) be your platform to show off God.

Life goal:  "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:11,12  

Love me,

Love, God.