Top X August 10, 2025 Devotional

LEVITICUS 19:18 | ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

LUKE 12:15 | ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

The tenth command prohibits a psychological stance, an emotional pattern, called covetousness. It asks us to examine our attitude to our neighbors. A neighbor was originally someone nearby with whom we interacted, a person in our shared neighborhood. Now with digital connection, physical proximity is not an absolute requirement for connection and we can have “neighbors at a distance.” In either case, we must assess our core attitude. Do we look at others as competitors, against whom we measure our own success, or as friends and people we are called to love and bless?

Do you rejoice in other’s success or envy it?

Gracious God,

Take away jealousy and envy from my thoughts. Help me not to consider others as competitors to be outdone but rather as gifts to embrace.

Amen.