17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (Exodus 20:17)
Just as the Ninth Commandment expands upon the Sixth, the Tenth Commandment is an extension of the Seventh Commandment’s prohibition on stealing. To covet someone else’s property is to desire to take that property without just cause. This can also take the form of envy, of convincing yourself that another person doesn’t deserve what he or she has, especially if you don’t have the desired item in question.
More broadly speaking, the Tenth Commandment means that we should be happy with what we have, and happy for others who have goods of their own.
Pop-Up Catechesis: The Tenth Commandment
Here are the Catholic Ten Commandments:
- I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
