The Ten Commandments

And all of those other rules.

I used to listen to a talk show…….Dr.Laura. The topic one day was the ten commandments. A caller was objecting to them……she said, “they are so narrow minded”. The caller hated the way that they restricted her freedom……..and they do. They restrict our ability to lie, steal, murder, envy, engage in recreational sex, dishonor our parents, work all of the time, and most of all……..they require us to love…….to give to others. In essence, the caller said that the ten commandments were proof……..that God is a cosmic killjoy.

I grew up in an America that was different from the country that we know today. There was an understanding that there were ideas and institutions that were bigger than me……..God, country, family. It was a given that my place was to serve these institutions……..even when I didn’t understand…….even when I objected. My identity was an American and I was expected to serve.

That America is gone.

America today is a country of entitlement. We focus on what we can get…….from the country and from others…….social security, medicare, food stamps, reparations, whatever is in the nearest convenience store. Everyone is identified as a member of some subgroup……..wasp, black, boomer, millineal, democrat, republican, gay, trans, etc. Our identity group is entitled……..so we add our group’s entitlements to our own.

The failure of America as a nation……..is the failure of the American people.

John Kennedy was talking about the death of the America that I grew up in when he said,

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,”

We chafe against the commandments………because they run contrary to our sense of entitlement. The commandments demand that we give……..when our current culture tells us that we should take……..that we deserve it.

“Get what you deserve”………an ubiquitous Medicare ad.

There is a fence at the back of my yard. My dog sits by the fence and stares out. He sees and smells all manner of great stuff beyond the fence…….and he wants it all. I’m sure that he sees the fence as an impediment to his freedom……..the freedom to chase down what he wants…..what he deserves. But, in addition to the rabbits, there are packs of coyotes and javelinas. There are rattlesnakes out there. As it turns out, the fence was put there by someone a lot smarter than my dog. The fence was put there to protect him…….not to ruin his fun. His world is a better place…….his life is a better life…….because of the fence.

The commandments are just like the fence. They were put there by someone a whole lot smarter than you and me. They are designed to protect us……to improve our lives.

Take a good hard look at America today. Can you honestly say that we are better off for having torn down the fence?

Can you honestly say that we are better off for having discarded the commandments………for having discarded God?

I don’t think so.

Love God
Love your fellow man
Don’t lie
Don’t steal
Don’t murder
Sex is for husbands and wives
Honor your parents
Don’t covet
Rest on Sunday

The ten commandments, abridged…….by me

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Jesus, ESV

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus, ESV