Exodus 20:17

In keeping with Reverend Billy's suggestions, I am studying the scriptures he recommended to better understand my spending, and consumption. I began with the first scripture. You shall not covet your neighbors house. You shall not covet your neighbors wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)
Well it's interesting that he first starts with that scripture. This is a biggie. Most of the time I don't care what my neighbor has, because I have everything I need, but once in a while this creeps into my heart. Right now, I want a Wii. All my friends have a Wii, they are all talking about it, and I want one. Honestly, I can't afford one either. The Wii fit would be nice though because then I could do some exercise that I need, but honestly I could ride my own bike for free too. My husband is rolling his eyes over this one because I told him in no uncertain terms we would not be buying one when he wanted to buy one months ago because we can't afford it. But I still keep thinking about it. I have to keep reminding myself that there are lots of things that give me pleasure that don't cost anything either. That having envy for what others have that I don't comes from the enemy. To keep my eyes on God and not material things. It's easy to see how we get into spending, but if I ask myself the question "Do I really need it?" the answer is no. My friend Amy and I talked a while back about the guidelines for spending. While there isn't completely clear directions, when you consider what would Jesus buy, the answer is probably very little, and he would give away more than he kept for himself.