God has so far indicated that he cares about our life (no murder), our love (no adultery), our stuff (no stealing), and our reputation (no false testimonies). The tenth instruction is "don't want what your neighbour has".
There is nothing more slaving than "keeping up with the Jones". It is tiring to use our neighbours possessions and successes as the incentive for our own living. In so doing, we let someone else set the bar for our lives. We become enslave to someone elses standard of living.
But then it's not just what they have. When we get tired of matching what our neighbours have, we will begin to resent them for what they have. And it may be a matter of time before we violate instruction 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 by taking their life, their wife, their things, and their name. So instruction 10 is a pre-caution to failing the other instructions.
In the end, freedom means living life on terms set between ourselves and God, and we leave our neighbours to figure themselves out with God.
Write
Think about your faith story: what's your experience with envy? How are you envious of others? How do you make others envy you?
Presently, who do you envy? What about them do you envy?
Who do you know is envious of you? What do they envy about you?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your experience with envy. Thank God for the way he has made you unique from others, and he blesses you uniquely so you can bless others uniquely.
Pray about the people you envy. Pray about the things you envy about them. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to live on your own terms.
Pray for the person who envies you. Pray for the wisdom and opportunity to walk with and support your friend by not fueling the envy.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he allows you to live for your own goals, and the way he sets you free from others' expectations.