Ten Commandments (11) - Coveting

The tenth commandment forbids the sin of coveting things that belong to other people (Ex 20:17).

A sin becomes a crime when there is a civil penalty attached to it. No punishment is ever specified for coveting, even for the children of Israel, so coveting is not a crime. The obvious reason for this is that it is impossible for civil authorities to prove that a person is coveting. No one can testify that another person is coveting, because we cannot see into another person’s heart. Civil authorities can only deal with coveting, when the coveter acts on his thoughts and translates them into theft or adultery.

Every sin is not a crime. This commandment is a good example of a sin that is not a crime. Even in Israel, coveting was outside the scope of the civil authortities.

Coveting is still a sin, and should be avoided by God's people. The best protection against coveting is a new heart and a renewed mind.