SPEAKER_00: We begin with readings from portions of Genesis chapter 37.
SPEAKER_00: Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age.
SPEAKER_00: Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
SPEAKER_00: But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
SPEAKER_00: Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more, and his brothers envied him.
SPEAKER_00: Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
SPEAKER_00: And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem?
SPEAKER_00: Come, I will send you to them.
SPEAKER_00: So he said to him, Here I am.
SPEAKER_00: Then Israel said to Joseph, Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.
SPEAKER_00: So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
SPEAKER_00: Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near, they conspi against him to kill him.
SPEAKER_00: Then they said to one another, Look, this dreamer is coming.
SPEAKER_00: Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit, and we shall say, Some wild beast has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
SPEAKER_00: But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him.
SPEAKER_00: And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him.
SPEAKER_00: He said this that he might deliver him out of their hands and bring him back to his father.
SPEAKER_00: So it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colours that was on him.
SPEAKER_00: Then they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
SPEAKER_00: And they sat down to eat a meal.
SPEAKER_00: Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: So Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
SPEAKER_00: Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for ye is our brother and our flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And his brothers listened.
SPEAKER_00: Then Midianite traders passed by, so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: And reading further from New Church teachings, first from Secrets of Heaven.
SPEAKER_00: It is important to know, though, that the evil that enters our thoughts does not hurt us at all.
SPEAKER_00: Spirits from hell are constantly pouring evil in, and angels constantly repel it.
SPEAKER_00: But when evil enters our will, it does harm us, because it then issues in action whenever outward restraints do not hold us back.
SPEAKER_00: Evil enters our will when we keep it in our thoughts, when we agree to it, and especially when we commit it and then enjoy it.
SPEAKER_00: And further from the work Divine Love and Wisdom, number 47.
SPEAKER_00: Divine love and wisdom cannot but be and have expression in others it creates.
SPEAKER_00: The essence of love is not to love self, but to love others, and through love to be conjoined with them.
SPEAKER_00: It is also the essence of love to be loved by others.
SPEAKER_00: For thus is conjunction achieved.
SPEAKER_00: The essential ingredient in all love consists in conjunction.
SPEAKER_00: Indeed, in it consists its life with which we call pleasure, gratification, delight, sweetness, bliss, happiness, and felicity.
SPEAKER_00: Love consists in willing what one has to be another's, and in feeling the other's delight as delight within oneself.
SPEAKER_00: That is what it is to love.
SPEAKER_00: In contrast, to feel one's own delight in another, and not the other's delight within oneself, is not to love, for this is loving self, whereas the first is loving the neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: And finally, from the work Doctrine of Life, number seventy and seventy-one.
SPEAKER_00: Now, since what is evil and what is good are two opposite things, it follows that if we turn our backs on something evil as a sin, we come into something good that is the opposite of that evil.
SPEAKER_00: For example, the goodness that is opposite to the evil meant by killing is loving our neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: Since this goodness and that evil are opposites, it follows that the evil thing is repelled by the good thing.
SPEAKER_00: Two opposites cannot be one, as heaven and hell cannot be one.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Here end our readings.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Today we are covering the last of the commandments in our series that we started back in September.
SPEAKER_00: The last commandments that we're covering today are you shall not covet.
SPEAKER_00: We'll talk about some of the details in a second.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to covet?
SPEAKER_00: Does it just mean to want something?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's not just wanting, because we want some we could want some nice things.
SPEAKER_00: We can even want a nice toy because it looks fun to play with.
SPEAKER_00: We can want a car that works and doesn't break down.
SPEAKER_00: That's not coveting, just wanting something something.
SPEAKER_00: But when we want something, and then when we don't get it, and it makes us sad or angry, that might be an indication that we're creeping towards coveting.
SPEAKER_00: So just wanting, not really an issue.
SPEAKER_00: Wanting something so that someone else doesn't have it, so that we have it because we're the best.
SPEAKER_00: We become sad or angry because we don't have it.
SPEAKER_00: It's time to start watching out.
SPEAKER_00: In our story today, Joseph was a favorite.
SPEAKER_00: Now, parents don't have favorite children, right?
SPEAKER_00: They don't love one more than the other.
SPEAKER_00: That wasn't true in this situation.
SPEAKER_00: Israel loved Joseph the most.
SPEAKER_00: And he showed it.
SPEAKER_00: He bought Joseph a nice gift.
SPEAKER_00: That probably wasn't the only one, but that's the one that we know about.
SPEAKER_00: He bought him a nice coat of many colors.
SPEAKER_00: Well, his brothers envied him, not just because of the coat, but because of the love.
SPEAKER_00: They wanted that love.
SPEAKER_00: How is it bad to want to be loved by your parents?
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_00: Of course it's great to be want to be great to want to be loved by your parents.
SPEAKER_00: But when we see others getting loved, and then that makes us angry and that they don't deserve to be loved, that well again we start creeping towards covetousness.
SPEAKER_00: So, his brothers.
SPEAKER_00: They hated him.
SPEAKER_00: They were angry at him, and then they were ready to murder him.
SPEAKER_00: But it ended up that they instead sold him into slavery.
SPEAKER_00: So that thing that started as just coveting, wanting that thing, it led to something else.
SPEAKER_00: Now, coveting itself, it doesn't seem so bad, right?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're not hurting anyone.
SPEAKER_00: If I'm just sitting here coveting your coat or your shirt, it's not hurting you for me to just stand here and covet.
SPEAKER_00: But it is.
SPEAKER_00: It is hurtful and it is harmful, even if it's not hurting necessarily the person out there right away.
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, it's so important that it has two of the ten slots of the Ten Commandments.
SPEAKER_00: It is that important.
SPEAKER_00: So, number nine is you shall you shall not covet your neighbor's house.
SPEAKER_00: That's number nine.
SPEAKER_00: And then number ten is you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
SPEAKER_00: So that's how it's split up, and it's split up that way in that recitation that we read as well in the liturgy.
SPEAKER_00: So it covered those two slots.
SPEAKER_00: It's that important.
SPEAKER_00: And it is that hurtful.
SPEAKER_00: It is hurtful when we covet.
SPEAKER_00: You see, first of all, even if it's not hurting the others, it is hurting us a lot.
SPEAKER_00: And this commandment against coveting is kind of a gateway in some ways to a lot of the other commandments.
SPEAKER_00: If we are allow ourselves to start coveting, it opens us up to some of these other things that are very hurtful to people.
SPEAKER_00: In our reading from Secrets of Heaven, we read about thoughts.
SPEAKER_00: Now, we always have thoughts coming into our mind, and we're they're a mix.
SPEAKER_00: Some of them are good and some of them are evil.
SPEAKER_00: The good ones, of course, come from angels, and the evil ones come from evil spirits around us.
SPEAKER_00: Now, just having a thought like, I want that toy, and even having the thought, I deserve it more, just having that thought doesn't make me or you or anybody a bad person.
SPEAKER_00: We have thoughts coming into our mind all the time, and a lot of them are quite distasteful.
SPEAKER_00: The problem is when we start to think about that thought more and more, and then we start to feel that thought in our heart, and we start to enjoy it, and we start to think about, ooh, what could I do to that person?
SPEAKER_00: Because I want that toy and I deserve it more, and they don't deserve it because they I'm a better person than they, it can blow up very quickly.
SPEAKER_00: And we when we start to get to that point, it gets to covetousness and it starts to enter our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when these thoughts become feelings and they start to enter our hearts, that's when we run into trouble.
SPEAKER_00: Because it keeps us from loving our neighbor, and also it keeps us away from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So it is a very hurtful commandment to be breaking.
SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, coveting can lead to breaking other commandments as well.
SPEAKER_00: In our story today, Joseph's brothers, it started with coveting, just wanting the love that he had from their father, and then it turned into hatred, and then it turned into them, they nearly killed their own brother because they wanted what he had.
SPEAKER_00: But that's not the only one that it can lead us to.
SPEAKER_00: It can lead us to break other commandments as well.
SPEAKER_00: For example, the thing that we covet can become so important that it's almost like a god in our lives, determining what we do and how we think and what we think about.
SPEAKER_00: So then we start to break the commandment, you shall have no other gods before me.
SPEAKER_00: Or it can lead to other sad situations in life, like stealing, murdering, and committing adultery.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why we need to keep a check on it.
SPEAKER_00: Now, another thing about coveting is it just generally takes away from our enjoyment of life.
SPEAKER_00: See, the thing is, if you're always wishing for something else, then you're not going to be happy with what you have.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want my enjoyment of life taken away, do you?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I want to be happy with what I have.
SPEAKER_00: I want to be happy.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: Now, please keep this in mind.
SPEAKER_00: If you are not happy with what you have, you will not be happy with what you want.
SPEAKER_00: If you're not happy with what you have, you will not ever be happy with what you want.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord gives us so many gifts.
SPEAKER_00: Even people in situations having less than us, the Lord gives us what we need.
SPEAKER_00: He gives us people around us that care about us.
SPEAKER_00: And if we're not happy with that, having that toy or that fancy car, that it's not going to make us happy.
SPEAKER_00: So, what can we do?
SPEAKER_00: Because I do want to be happy in my life, and not only that, I want my happiness to help make other people happy.
SPEAKER_00: That's the Lord wants what the Lord wants us to do.
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to share it.
SPEAKER_00: But if I don't have it, I can't share it.
SPEAKER_00: So what can I do?
SPEAKER_00: What can I do to have that contentment with what the Lord has given me?
SPEAKER_00: Well, in our reading from the Doctrine of Life, it says, if you want goodness, you need to shun evil.
SPEAKER_00: So if you want to have that good feeling and the good things in your life, if you want to notice the good things in your life, you need to push away andor run away from the evil things that come into our mind.
SPEAKER_00: It's those thoughts.
SPEAKER_00: Keep away from those thoughts and keep them away from you.
SPEAKER_00: But then also, that number went on to say, that reading from The Doctrine of Life went on to say, if you don't want evil in your life, then practice goodness.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't want evil, then practice goodness.
SPEAKER_00: Because good and evil are opposites.
SPEAKER_00: They can't be together in the same place.
SPEAKER_00: They literally can't be together up here or in here.
SPEAKER_00: And so when we practice one, the other goes away.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the opposites of coveting.
SPEAKER_00: I thought of a couple.
SPEAKER_00: The first one that I thought of is gratitude.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you look around yourself and you can be thankful for something, anything, the things around you that the Lord has given you, then covetous desire, coveting, can't exist in that same space.
SPEAKER_00: It can't be there together.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul said this: He said, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything, give thanks.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine what it would be like to give thanks no matter what your situation?
SPEAKER_00: If you're having a hard day, if you get stuck in traffic and you're late for something, and you find a way to give thanks, it pushes away some of those other negative thoughts that can come in.
SPEAKER_00: And that goes for coveting as well.
SPEAKER_00: If we can be thankful for what we have, notice what we have, be thankful to the Lord for it, then we have no reason to desire those other things that other people have, and those things won't make us sad.
SPEAKER_00: So, gratitude.
SPEAKER_00: Gratitude is number one.
SPEAKER_00: Another one that came up in our readings today was generosity.
SPEAKER_00: In Divine Love and Wisdom number 47, we read that wishing another what one has to be another's, that is loving.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this isn't just talking about money or things, and I wish my things to be another person's things, but even wishing our happiness and our contentment and our relationship with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I wish you could have that too.
SPEAKER_00: That's also loving.
SPEAKER_00: Wishing what I have to be another's.
SPEAKER_00: And another part of that is experiencing another person's delight as delight in ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: So when we see that someone else has a bigger piece of cake than we do, or a toy that makes them happy, we can think, look, that toy makes them so happy.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm glad that they are.
SPEAKER_00: We get to take their joy and actually experience it in ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: That is love.
SPEAKER_00: Gratitude, generosity, wanting to share those things with people.
SPEAKER_00: I want to end with one more sort of antidote to coveting, and it is quotes from the Lord's Word.
SPEAKER_00: See, when Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and he was being tempted by the devil, he fought against those temptations with quotes from his own word.
SPEAKER_00: And that was an example for us.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going to share four quotes for you to take with, and that will be the end of it.
SPEAKER_00: One's life does not consist in the abundance of things.
SPEAKER_00: Seek first the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
SPEAKER_00: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.