Envious But Justified

Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).

James is obviously referring to the Ten Commandments when he said “the whole law”, or to the whole Law of Moses (the Pentateuch books [Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy]). No one has ever or can fulfill the whole Law. That is why God the Father sent His only begotten Son who is the fulfillment of the Law. Thus Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). In other words, because death is the penalty or wages of sin (Rom. 6:23), since we are all sinners, as the Scriptures say, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), only the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on behalf of the believer can fulfill the law, resulting to the believer’s being justified. Meaning, Just-as-If he committed no sin, so he will not spiritually die but will have eternal life which is the gift of God, by grace through faith in the Son (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9).

Can any of us claim that we have never violated one of God’s laws? For example, the command not to covet? (Exodus 20:17). To covet is to desire to own what already belongs to another.

We may be relatively good, but in the eyes of a perfectly holy God, we have fallen far short of His standards. We all need the guilt-cleansing grace that Jesus Christ alone can provide.

The apostle Paul was truly right when he declared that “there is none righteous” and “all have sinned” (Romans 3:10, 23).

Some months ago, a friend of mine, Mr. Rulfo Asis, a co-member in the Regional Tripartite Wage Board in Region XI (RTWPB-XI for brevity), acquired a Chevrolet (Spark) small car. When I rode with him in his new car, I noticed that it performed well in all aspects including its aircon. I learned from him too that the car runs at least twenty kilometers per liter of gasoline. Now that gasoline is increasing very often, a small car is desirable for every car owner.

Speaking out of the abundance of my heart, I appreciated lavishly the beauty and serviceability of his car and said that he is very fortunate to have such a car. He proudly told me that his son gave it to him as a gift. Verbalizing my thought, I said to him, how I wish I will also have one like this. But back in my mind, do I have a son or daughter who would give me a car like it?

Some months after, a golden opportunity, I thought, suddenly came on sight. My Korean client, the P.K. Industries, a duly accredited assembler and rebuilder of Korean surplus cars, won its case filed by the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (popularly known as PASG), in the Bureau of Customs, in the Ombudsman and in the Office of the President of the Philippines. Striking the iron while it is hot, I asked my client for a small car. To my surprise beyond words could express, he gladly gave me in a silver platter a CHEV small car which is the latest model, later than that of my friend’s.

Indeed, it is true, “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7). And it is also true that “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4 KJV).

Actually, in a manner of speaking, for lack of the proper term, I “coveted” the car of my friend, but not to the extent that I desired to have his own car by stealing it or killing him so I can have his car. I waited for God to supply my need, even my heart’s desire, while I continued to serve Him as faithfully as I can in the capacity I am capable of doing.

This topic of covetousness brings to my mind the account of King Ahab who coveted (as defined above) the orchard of Naboth situated beside his palace (1 Kings 21). The King offered to buy the orchard but Naboth refused to sell. He offered to exchange any part of his kingdom of his own choice but still Naboth declined the generous offer because in their Jewish culture, it is bad luck to sell their inheritance. The King became distressed and disappointed beyond description in words. Queen Jezebel, finding the cause of the troubled king, said “cheer up, as if you are not a king. I’ll take care of your problem”. The queen commanded that Naboth be paraded around the kingdom in a chariot with two witnesses accusing him for blasphemy of God and for being a traitor to the kingdom, resulting to the death of Naboth by stoning. Then the queen told the king, “Now you can have the orchard of Naboth”. It temporarily made the King happy, but not long after his kingdom was attacked by his enemies, and he and his wife died a horrible death. This is an example of pure and simple covetousness.

Indeed, it is a sin to covet what belongs to your neighbor. What we should do instead is dream about it, work hard, be faithful to God, and in His time He will make all things beautiful (Eccl. 3:11).