Cease and Desist

What do you do when you want someone to stop doing something and also to stop doing it for good?

You could give them a “cease and desist” letter.  Such a letter is a request that asks another party to stop a behavior (cease) and never do it again (desist).  The request could also include notice that legal action may be taken if the conduct continues.

The Ten Commandments were sort of a “cease and desist” letter from God to the Israelites.  The commandments provided standards of conduct for them to follow.  Some of the commandments indicated what the Israelites should not be doing and if they were doing it, that they should cease and desist!

But the last commandment is quite unique.  It moves from the realm of external deeds and focuses attention on the heart and mind.  This commandment has to do with coveting. 

Coveting is to eagerly desire that which belongs to another.  Without some kind of intervention, our eyes tend to look at that which belongs to another, our minds tend to admire it, our hearts tend to get set on it and our physical bodies tend to move to get it. 

For the record, it really isn’t wrong to want good things or to work hard to obtain them.  But the reality is that we often want things that are off limits to us, that is, things that are not intended for us or that are not rightfully ours.

While it could be said that it starts with the eyes, in many ways we really can’t help but see our neighbor’s house, vehicles, money, social position or something that our neighbor has that we don’t have.  But it’s not just the seeing; it’s the noticing and the desiring. 

Does a “cease and desist” letter work in all this?  Maybe, though not likely!  But we can work at replacing our desires.  We replace the desire for things not intended for us with a desire for what God has for us.  And ultimately, only that which God gives can really satisfy us at the deepest level.  Consider the following from the Word of God:

“As with choice meat you satisfy my soul. My mouth joyfully praises you.” (Ps 63:5)

“Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love. Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days.”  (Ps 90:14)

“You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”  (Ps 145:16)

“Fearing the Lord leads to life, and one who does so will live satisfied; he will not be afflicted by calamity.”  (Prov 19:23)

“I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.”  (Jer 31:25)

Is it easy?  Hardly!  Our whole economy seems to be based on covetousness. Advertising and social media are full of images and sounds and words designed to make us covet the things we don’t have and be discontent with what we do have. We lie awake at night thinking of how much better that new phone is compared to the one we currently have. We see a nice home and then dream of having one like it.  We ride in someone’s new car and resent our old car and how deficient it seems to be.

 Given all that, it’s easy to think we need those things we covet in order to be happy.  And while I wish a simple “cease and desist” would always stop us, there are times when I think we might be better off with a “see and dismiss”.  That is, we see what’s out there but we dismiss it, knowing that if it’s not from the Lord, then it really can’t satisfy.