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“You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods” (Ex 20:17)
A spiritual guide to purifying the heart in today’s world
1. The most interior commandment… and the most forgotten
The Tenth Commandment is probably one of the most ignored and misunderstood. Many people think it “doesn’t really harm anyone,” that it remains only in the realm of thoughts, or that it is impossible not to fall into it. However, the Tradition of the Church considers it essential, because it touches the deepest core of sin: the disordered desire of the heart.
While other commandments regulate external actions, the tenth points directly to the interior of man. And that is where the hardest spiritual battle is fought.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21)
This commandment does not forbid progress, work, or the legitimate desire for a dignified life. It forbids covetousness, that is, the selfish, disordered, and possessive desire that turns material goods into idols and robs us of interior freedom.
2. What does the Church really teach about this commandment?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 2534–2557) teaches that the Tenth Commandment:
- Forbids greed and disordered covetousness
- Calls us to poverty of spirit
- Fights against envy
- Demands trust in Divine Providence
- Invites us to temperance of desire
It is not only about “not stealing” (which is already forbidden by the Seventh Commandment), but about not desiring what does not belong to you in an unjust way, about not living in constant comparison, about not measuring your worth by what you possess.
3. An extremely relevant commandment today
We live in a society that systematically feeds covetousness:
- Constant advertising
- Social media built on comparison
- Success measured by money, status, and possessions
- Anxiety to “have more,” even when we no longer know how to enjoy what we already have
The Tenth Commandment is profoundly countercultural. It reminds us that:
Not everything I desire is good for me.
Not everything I can have should I want.
4. Spiritual roots of sin against the Tenth Commandment
Behind covetousness there are often hidden:
- Lack of trust in God
- Personal insecurity
- Pride (wanting to be worth more than others)
- Ingratitude
- Forgetfulness of eternal life
That is why this commandment is intimately linked to faith, hope, and charity.
5. Extensive and detailed list of sins against the Tenth Commandment
(A practical guide for examination of conscience)
A. Sins of covetousness and interior greed
- Desiring riches solely to feel superior to others
- Never being satisfied with what one has
- Living obsessed with earning more money, even at the expense of moral duties
- Placing economic profit above justice
- Hoarding goods with no intention of sharing
- Feeling constant anxiety about money
- Measuring personal success solely by material means
- Desiring inheritances, goods, or properties belonging to others
- Taking interior pleasure in the possible financial ruin of another
- Living with excessive fear of losing money or possessions
B. Sins of envy (a grave form of the Tenth Commandment)
- Feeling sadness over another’s good fortune
- Rejoicing in the financial failure of others
- Constantly comparing oneself with others
- Desiring that another lose what he has
- Feeling resentment toward the success of others
- Criticizing or discrediting those who prosper
- Secretly desiring to “be in their place”
- Feeling hatred or rejection toward those who possess more
- Being unable to tolerate that others are recognized or rewarded
- Desiring that God not bless others
C. Sins against poverty of spirit
- Believing that security depends only on money
- Failing to trust in Divine Providence
- Living in constant anxiety about one’s financial future
- Refusing to help out of fear of losing
- Clinging to possessions as if they were eternal
- Living as if this life were the ultimate end
- Despising simplicity and sobriety
- Considering an austere life useless
- Mocking those who live with little
- Interiorly rejecting the cross of scarcity
D. Sins related to modern consumerism and materialism
- Compulsive buying without necessity
- Spending money to impress others
- Going into debt out of vanity
- Living obsessed with brands and status
- Desiring what others display on social media
- Feeling inferior for not having the latest things
- Working only in order to consume more
- Replacing useful items merely out of caprice
- Seeking identity in what one owns
- Sacrificing time with God or family for money
E. Sins of unjust intention and desire
- Secretly desiring what belongs to another
- Fantasizing about appropriating another’s goods
- Interiorly justifying covetousness
- Feeding thoughts of unjust possession
- Failing to combat disordered desires
- Consenting to greed without repentance
- Rejecting the interior correction of conscience
- Considering a covetous lifestyle “normal”
- Refusing to fight against envy
- Refusing to ask forgiveness for unjust desires
6. When can these sins be mortal?
A sin against the Tenth Commandment can be mortal when:
- The desire is grave (hatred, deep envy, extreme greed)
- It is fully consented to
- It becomes a habitual attitude
- It leads to other grave sins (injustices, theft, hatred)
Not every disordered desire is mortal, but it must be confessed if it has been consented to.
7. Virtues that heal the covetous heart
To live this commandment, the Church proposes:
- Poverty of spirit
- Gratitude
- Trust in God
- Generosity
- Temperance
- Charity
“But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim 6:8)
8. Conclusion: interior freedom or slavery to desire
The Tenth Commandment is not a burden, but a gateway to freedom.
He who does not covet, rests.
He who trusts in God, lives in peace.
Before confession, sincerely ask yourself:
Does my heart belong to God… or to what I have and desire?
