Variety In Clarity!

In order to give clarity and understanding, Andy Stanley is going to use a number of rhetorical techniques in the following clip.  Notice the variety of ways in which he defines “coveting” because his focused goal is to give clarity.  He clarifies what coveting means by all of the following methods, one after another!

• By definition it means – desire strongly
• By what it does not mean – admire
• By how it affects a person –  makes them unhappy
• By how it affects our affections of others – don’t like others who have
• By how it affects relationships – erodes relationships
• By how it affects hearing about the bad fortune of others – happy when other lose
• By contrasting its visibility – cannot be seen in contrast to the other commandments
• By the inability to regulate – cannot be enforced

(Link: Andy Stanley – Thou Shalt Be Free )

You shalt not covet your neighbor’s house.

√ And covet means desire strongly.  It means –

√ It doesn’t mean “to admire” – It’s not like you can’t say “Nice house.” or “Nice car or nice dog or nice wife. — or you know – you know – you can’t say it.  It’s not about admiring.

√ It’s about to desire strongly.  to covet is to be unhappy with you, because of what you have.

√ To covet is to say – you know – I don’t like you because your house is nicer than mine.  I don’t like you because your husband is better looking than mine.  I don’t like you cause your kid is better at sports than mine.

√ To covet is to desire so strongly that it erodes a relationship and it erodes respect.

√ You know you’re coveting when you find out that somebody has a nicer house than you – had a financial turnaround and had to sell their house and somehow you’re relieved.  And you’re going, “Oh I’m so sorry,” — on the inside you’ere going – it kinda feels good that they lost their house. — What’s that?  That’s covet.

√ That’s the desire so strongly – That’s the desire so strongly that it erodes a relationship.

√ and again this is not one anybody ever had the police called on them for — “Officer I need for you to get here right away.  My neighbor’s staring – at my car – and I think they – I think they’ve gone from admire to covet.  So you need to get over here.  We need to talk – I mean.

√ It’s the unenforceable law.  But here it is – here it is – right in the middle of all these tangible thou shalt not steal, kill, and commit adultery

You can follow this same pattern in “driving” and clarifying the “point.”

• By definition it means – desire strongly
• By what it does not mean – admire
• By how it affects a person –  makes them unhappy
• By how it affects our affections of others – don’t like others who have
• By how it affects relationships – erodes relationships
• By how it affects hearing about the bad fortune of others – happy when other lose
• By contrasting its visibility – cannot be seen in contrast to the other commandments
• By the inability to regulate – cannot be enforced