The Tenth

Commandment
You Shall Not Covet Your
Neighbor’s Goods
The Tenth Commandment
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

 This commandment teaches us to practice the

virtues of poverty of spirit and generosity of the
heart. It teaches that we should give up the love of
money which is greed and avarice. Detachment
from material wealth frees us from this world and
can lead to true happiness. It teaches that desiring
what is someone else’s can lead to other sins such
as stealing, fraud, and murder.
 This is the lust of a different sort: wealth, money,
power
 Sins to avoid: greed, avarice
 Virtue to acquire: generosity, charity
The Tenth Commandment
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

 Avarice is an excessive desire to accumulate wealth

and the power behind wealth. It makes wealth and
money a god. It turns a person’s heart cold and
unscrupulous. People who are avaricious can never
have enough. Scrooge
 Greed is the passion of wanting more and more
material goods. Greed causes one to desire the best
or trendiest things. The Joneses
 Envy is caused by Greed. Envy can blind us to the
truth that all blessings come from God. Envy causes
one to be jealous of what other people possess and
lead to other sins such as hatred, lying, calumny, or
even murder. The Joneses
The Tenth Commandment
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

 “It would be easier for a camel to go through

the eye of a needle…” (Mt. 19: 16-25)
 “Do not store for yourselves treasure on earth
where moth and decay destroy…” (Mt 6: 19-
21)
 “Money is the root of all evil…” NOT. “The love
of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Tim 6:10)
 Works Cited
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Editrice Vaticana.

Hahn, S. (2003). Lord, have mercy: the healing power of confession. New
York: Double Day.

Klein, P. (2000). The Catholic source book: a comprehensive collection of

information about the Catholic Church. Orlando: Brown-Roa.

McBride, A. (1995). Father McBride’s teen catechism. Huntington,IN: Our

Sunday Visitor.

McBride, A. (2000). Father McBride’s college catechism. Huntington,IN: Our

Sunday Visitor.

Poust, M. (2008). The complete idiot’s guide to the Catholic catechism. New
York: Alpha Books