Joshua 7:20-21 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
“Thou shalt not covet.” This commandment covers two of the seven deadly sins, greed and envy. The seven deadly sins are deadly because they lead to actual destructive evils. Covetousness (greed) appears harmless since it is only in the mind, but it is a root of selfishness that causes a chain of events that ends in death and destruction. Achan coveted first, and then he stole what belonged to God; that caused death and defeat at Ai, in addition to the stoning and burning of his family.
Great, even widespread, evil usually begins with a simple thought in the mind. A small thing, like the tongue, can become the seed of great disaster. James 3:6: “The tongue is a fire, staining the whole body, setting on fire the whole course of life, and set on fire by hell.” Great oaks grow from small acorns, and wildfires from sparks. Thought sins like covetousness (and greed, envy, anger, lust, and such) leads to death and destruction, unless it is recognized and nipped in the bud. For this reason, a believer responds with daily repentance. Adam, Cain, Achan, Saul, and many others were all given a chance to repent and confess before they were caught, and in so doing could have cut the chain and saved lives.
Frequent confession and constant repentance and instant forgiveness affects the Christian’s life and behavior. And all is well.