By Isaiah White
Recently, I came across an advert on Instagram featuring a video of women whose body structures had been altered with artificial enhancements. Today, many women wear artificial hair, eyelashes, nails, even synthetic buttocks. In my culture, where weight is often equated with beauty, some women at weddings go as far as placing small bottles under their armpits to inflate the appearance of their arms. Others opt for costly cosmetic surgeries or invest heavily in make-up, an industry that has now become a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.
This is the extent to which marketing companies have influenced society. Factories that once focused on producing cups and plates now manufacture plastic and rubber body parts. Capitalist industries thrive on two crucial social phenomena: insatiable desire and permissiveness.
Insatiable desire
One of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament declares: “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 anything that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:17). Deuteronomy 5:21 echoes the same.
The problem with us human beings is that we often do not know what we want, until we see it. What we crave is not born of internal conviction, but from comparison. We desire what others have and aspire to become who others are. This is what the Bible terms covetousness. Our desires are not self-defined but shaped by our environment, which has no consistent standard. Thus, what we want constantly shifts and can never be satisfied.
This insatiable desire manifests in two critical ways:
Identity crisis
When we long to be someone else, it signals a loss of self. People don’t simply have light or dark skin—they are that. When you try to become them, you lose your originality. Sadly, even with significant effort and cost, the best you can become is a mere copy, not their true self.
This kind of identity crisis demonstrates a lack of appreciation for one’s uniqueness and ingratitude toward God. Psalm 139:14 says: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Altering your appearance with artificial nails, skin lighteners, or synthetic body parts reflects a lack of praise for God and discontent with His creation.
Failure of social responsibility
Covetousness also leads to a disregard for societal wellbeing. It turns people into excessive consumers, often to their own detriment and to that of the environment. The physical and mental health risks posed by the beauty industry are largely ignored by its consumers.
Further, covetousness leads to deception. When individuals misrepresent themselves with unnatural enhancements, they fail in their social responsibility to be truthful. Dressing in a body that is not your own, simply to appeal to an unsuspecting public, erodes authenticity and misleads others.
Learning contentment
In Philippians 4:11, the Apostle Paul says: “Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.” In essence, Paul reiterates the commandment given to Moses: “Thou shalt not covet.” This command targets the inner desires, the root of sin.
Prophetically, it exposes the universal human condition: an inherent tendency to desire what is not ours. As James 1:14–15 explains, this unchecked desire gives birth to sin. The commandment reveals our need for inner transformation—one that the law itself cannot achieve. While the law may prohibit and condemn, it cannot change the heart.
This is why the Bible anticipates a New Covenant, one that writes God’s law on our hearts and empowers us to obey through the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:26–27). It points to a time when, free from sinful desires, redeemed hearts will find satisfaction in God alone. Revelation 21:4 and 22:1–5 envision this fulfilled hope: no more sorrow, no more thirst for what others have, just peace and eternal contentment.
Restoring shalom
Our world is plagued by discontent. It fuels much of the suffering we see today. In our pursuit of more—more beauty, more wealth, more recognition, we have lost sight of God’s will. Yet the timeless command, “Thou shalt not covet,” calls us back to order. It is more than a rule, it is a revelation. It shows the depth of our brokenness and our desperate need for a Saviour.
True contentment does not come from acquiring more, nor from transforming our bodies into someone else’s ideal. It comes from recognising that we were purposefully and wonderfully made—and that in God, we lack nothing.
Let us learn, like Paul, to be content in whatever state we are. Let us turn away from the ever-changing standards of the world and instead be anchored in the unchanging love of our Creator.
By Isaiah White, A life coach and theologian contact: 0775822833, whitemwine@gmail.com
