My view
always “right and salutary” and that it is always “right, our duty and our joy”
to not have a “Seusscharist.” The Rev. Lance Henderson West Columbia, S.C.
One of our own The article “What can a Lutheran learn from visiting a monastery?” (Febru- ary, page 28) does not mention St. Augustine’s House, a Lutheran mon- astery and retreat center in Oxford, Mich. For more information, go to
www.staugustineshouse.org. Doug Larson Amston, Conn.
What’s next?
I take issue with “Applesauce commu- nion” (February, page 38). If the patient had trouble swallowing, it would have been better to soak the bread in wine rather than applesauce. Seminary failed to train her that nothing should be added or taken away from the sacra-
ment of the altar or Holy Scriptures. Peggy Miller Claremont, N.C.
Plus and minus
The cover and graphics for the January lead article were interesting, but page 20 was too cluttered. However, we need more graphics in The Lutheran that portray our relationship to the real world. The magazine should assist us in thinking about how we use our reli-
gious beliefs in our daily tasks. Roberta Palen Eveleth, Minn.
Send “Letters” to: Letters to the Editor, The Lutheran, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631-4183; fax: 773-380- 2409; email
lutheran@thelutheran.org. Please include your name, city and state. Your letter will be considered for publication unless you state otherwise. The Lutheran publishes letters representa- tive of those received on a given subject. Be brief and limit your letter to a single topic. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Letters must be signed, but a re- quest for anonymity will be honored if the subject matter is personally sensitive.
“My view” submis- sions should be 400 words on a societal event or issue or on issues in the life of the ELCA. All submis- sions are subject to editing. Send to: “My view, ” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631; email: lutheran@
thelutheran.org; fax: 773-380-2409.
I
Swaeby is a real estate broker and member of Grace Lutheran Church, Boulder, Colo.
By Jim Swaeby
Thou shall not covet Sin starts with wanting it all
ncluded among the “should nots” is one that gets little notice. “Don’t covet” made it to the Top 10, yet it gets little recognition and attention. Many cannot define the
word. The Ten Commandments do not raise a very high bar.
Almost all cultures have a prohibition against killing, stealing and lying. Respect of ancestors has always been universally observed. Who objects to a day off? Worshiping a rock is some- what stupid. Adultery is not done accidentally. It starts with coveting and lying. Coveting, lying and adultery: one act, three sins.
It is coveting that leads to murder: we want another’s life. It is the cause of stealing: we want his stuff. We lie to get what is not ours. It starts with coveting. But wait, is it not coveting when we want our Social
Security benefits paid for by those who will never see their own retirement checks? Do we covet food and watching TV over a healthy body? Does everything a high-income person earns belong to the government? Is anything they get back because of loopholes and tax breaks? Get back? Wasn’t it their money to start with? We want our government benefits paid for with others’ tax money. We covet what we want now, and run huge deficits, to be repaid by future generations. We covet the oil in the lands of other people, or at the expense of God’s creation, so we can waste gasoline driv- ing big cars. We use energy to air-condition or overheat the places where we live, shop, work, study and worship. We covet our comfort now. We are not worried if our
descendants do not have oil, agricultural land, minerals, forests, flowing streams, polar bears, an ocean with fish and plentiful food. We covet health care others have and we can’t afford. We covet schools for our kids, paid for by taxes on others. We export our bad air, child labor, lack of worker
safety and environmental destruction so we can get our TVs, clothes, toys and watches from poor countries on the cheap. We covet the low-wage labor of migrant farmwork- ers to get our grapes and oranges at low cost. We covet bargain priced eggs and meat over humane treatment of animals. We covet bigger houses, faster cars, elegant churches,
full stomachs and sexual experiences at the detriment of others. Thou shall not covet. M
March 2012 49
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