September 14, 2010 – Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments.

-You shall not have other gods besides Me.  We have talked about it several times, the idea that a god may not be something you normally think of as gods.  It is what we give our time and energy to, money, power, other people perhaps.  These things, if they become the focus of our lives, become gods to us and fall under this commandment. 

-You shall not carve idols.  This one is brought up a lot because Catholic Churches have many statues of  Jesus, Mary and the Saints.  These are not idols that we worship, which is what was being done in Egypt and what the Jews do with the golden calf.  These statues are a remembrance of those that have come before us, to remind us of them, to help us live by their example.  It is a similar idea of having pictures of loved ones in your home.

-You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.   This may be one that is most abused because it is perhaps seen as so minimal or not as significant.  It is not the third because it is insignificant.  At the name of Jesus every knew shall bend.  Holy is the name of the Lord.  The Jews would not even say the name of the Lord because it was so sacred.  We need to rethink how we throw around the Lord’s name. 

-Keep Holy the Sabbath Day.  This is another one we push under the rug.  It was just a few reflections ago where I talked about this, so I won’t go into detail again.  Just think about what we may be able to do ahead of time so that we can open up our Sundays to God. 

-Honor your Father and your Mother.  I fail at this one I think.  For some reason we think that when we get out from under our parents rule, this one goes out the window.  There is no time limit on the commandment. 

-You shall not kill.  This would also encompass all the right to life issues and how your support or opposition has led to the death of others.  We can be held responsible for things we  are not aware of if our actions lead to a act somewhere down the chain. 

-You shall not commit adultery.  I got a question about living together outside of marriage.  Besides statistics saying that it is not helpful to the security of a marriage, I was trying to think of other arguments against it.  One thing people always use to support it is the convenience.  I was talking to Michelle about that and was saying, for the most part, it is not difficult to be a Christian.  We are not persecuted, we usually don’t get fired for our beliefs, people generally don’t care about our religion, for better or worse.  For someone to say I don’t want to follow this rule because it is inconvenient is just ridiculous.  You are not just suppose to follow those rules that are easy for you to do.  You are suppose to follow the rules, period.    

-You shall not steal.  I think the struggle I have with this one is being lazy at work or wasting down time I might have.  I am getting paid, yet not really being productive.  I think I have gotten better and I think getting more organized helps.  We need to think about when we waste other people’s time, time is money, and that is a form of stealing. 

-You shall not bear false witness.  People don’t take this very serious.  Speaking as a lawyer, I can tell you that people lie as easily as the tell the truth.  Most probably are so lost in their lies they may not know truth anymore.  Gossip is another thing that falls into this category. 

-You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  I am always catching myself being jealous of what others have.  We need to know that God has given us what we need.  The grass is always greener on the other side idea is going to lead someone to a life where they never find satisfaction.  There will always be something we don’t have.