Yes — Les Feldick teaches that envy/coveting is the root impulse behind every violation of the Ten Commandments.
Paul himself points to the tenth commandment in Romans 7:7, saying he had not known lust except the law said, "Thou shalt not covet." Les applies this to the whole list: no one can kill, steal, commit adultery, or bear false witness without first coveting. Even taking God's name in vain, he argues, is coveting attention.
Exodus 20:17 — This is the actual tenth commandment that forbids coveting — the command Paul singles out in Romans 7.
Romans 7:7 — Paul explicitly uses "Thou shalt not covet" to show how the law exposed his own sinful lust.
1 Corinthians 13:4 — This verse directly contrasts love with envy: "charity envieth not."
Exodus 20:17 lists the tenth commandment as "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." The Bible therefore treats covetous desire itself as a violation of God's law, not merely the actions it produces. In Romans 7:7, Paul references this same command: "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Here Scripture shows the law's role of exposing inner sin and lust. First Corinthians 13:4 sets love against envy: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not." Scripture thus distinguishes the inner sin of envy/coveting from the love that is its opposite.
Les Feldick consistently teaches that envy — which he equates with coveting — is the underlying impulse behind every single violation of the Ten Commandments. He argues that no one can kill, steal, commit adultery, bear false witness, or take the Lord's name in vain without first coveting. Even cursing and swearing, he explains, is a form of coveting attention. He points to Romans 7:7, where Paul reaches the same conclusion: "Thou shalt not covet" is the commandment that made Paul aware of his own sinful desires. Les also uses Cain's envy of Abel as the biblical pattern: Cain was envious simply because Abel was right with God and he was not. Les further notes the absence of the word "love" from the Ten Commandments, showing that the law written on stone could only condemn — it had no power to change the heart or compel love.
Les asks pointedly whether it is possible to break a single one of the other nine commandments without first coveting. His answer is no. He says you cannot kill unless you covet, you cannot steal unless you covet, you cannot commit adultery unless you covet, and you cannot destroy someone's character with false gossip unless you covet. The same logic applies to taking the Lord's name in vain: people who curse and swear are actually coveting attention to themselves. For Les, "Thou shalt not covet" is the one commandment of the ten that has to be committed first.
Les shows that "Thou shalt not covet" is the commandment that put Paul in awareness of all the others. In Romans 7:7 Paul writes, "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Les explains that Paul used this particular command as the primary example of the law because coveting triggers every sin. The law, written on tables of stone, could not help Paul keep from sinning; it could only stand there and condemn.
Les uses Cain as an example of envy at work. Cain was filled with envy because Abel was right with God and Cain was not. That was the only issue between the brothers. Les connects this directly to the Ten Commandments: "You cannot break a single one of the Ten Commandments without first being guilty of envy." Cain's envy is a picture of the inner desire that precedes outward transgression.
Les points out that the word "love" is glaringly absent from the Ten Commandments as God gave them on tables of stone. He says the law could only condemn; it had no power to help a man stop stealing or committing adultery. Even the command to love God cannot be forced, because love must spring from within. In 1 Corinthians 13:4, love is defined as not envying: "charity envieth not." So the opposite of envy is love, and that is what the law, written on stone, could not produce.
Cain's Envy and the Root Command
Les uses Cain's envy toward Abel to demonstrate that envy precedes every violation of the Ten Commandments; he says you cannot break a single one without first being guilty of envy.
Coveting Behind Nine Others
Les challenges listeners to test whether they can break the other nine commandments without coveting; he insists they cannot, and he starts to show how even taking God's name in vain is coveting attention.
Why Every Commandment Requires Coveting
Les lists specific commands — murder, stealing, adultery, false gossip — and says each is impossible without coveting first; he also says taking the Lord's name in vain fits because cursing stems from coveting attention.
Cursing and Swearing as Coveting Attention
Les explains that a person who curses or swears is coveting attention, just like a child acting out in school; this extends the principle to every area of the Ten Commandments.
Paul's Primary Example: Romans 7
Les connects Romans 7:7-8 to the Ten Commandments, showing that Paul used "Thou shalt not covet" as the primary example because coveting triggers law-breaking.
The Law Only Condemns
Les describes the Ten Commandments as cold tables of stone that could only condemn; they had no power to stop stealing or adultery, nor to force love, which must spring from within.
The Commandment That Awakened Paul
Les explains that the "Thou shalt not covet" commandment is the one that put Paul in awareness of all the others, confirming its central role in the law.
Love vs. Coveting
Les teaches "love envieth not" and equates envy with coveting: if you love someone you cannot covet what is theirs, linking 1 Corinthians 13 to the commandments.
Exodus 20:17: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
The tenth commandment identifies coveting as the prohibited inner desire behind so many outward sins.
Romans 7:7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Paul uses the command not to covet to show how the law brings awareness of sin.
Romans 7:8: But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Paul shows that the commandment not to covet actually stirred up sinful desire, illustrating the law's inability to change the heart.
1 Corinthians 13:4: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
This verse puts envy and love in direct opposition, a point Les also makes.
Yes, in Les's teaching. He says the word for envy is covet. If you love someone, you cannot covet what is theirs. Scripture also uses "covet" to describe the desire that Paul realized he had in Romans 7:7.
According to the transcripts, no. Les says you cannot kill, steal, commit adultery, or bear false witness unless you covet first. Even taking the Lord's name in vain is traced to coveting attention.
Paul names it as the commandment that made him know sin and lust. Les explains this is because coveting is the trigger behind every violation of the law; it was Paul's primary example of how the law exposes sin.
Les observes that the word "love" is glaringly absent from the commandments as God gave them. The law written on stone could only condemn; it had no power to produce love, which must spring from within. In 1 Corinthians 13:4, love is the opposite of envy.
Watch the Teaching: Understanding Cain and Abel: Faith, Sin, and Civilization Explained