In the last post, we saw how God prescribed for us how we are to love and honor him. The rest of the 10 Commandments focus on relationships and respecting other human beings. God gives us several different ways to do that. By breaking these Commandments, we sin. We sin in other ways, too, but these are the biggies.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on “sin” because that is a HUGE subject. I could devote a whole series to sin. But we do need to remember that sin is sin. None of it is good in God’s eyes. I, for one, don’t believe there is a hierarchy of sin. It’s all bad. In our human terms, we would tend to say that someone who kills another (one of the top 10) is worse than someone who gossips about another. Both are bad.
The important thing to remember is God is the final judge. He is the one who forgives. He is the one who loves us no matter how horrible we are. He’s the one who has commanded us for our own good.
So today’s reading focuses on those sins we should avoid when it comes to other people. So for the first one, whether we are parents or not, we all have parents. I love how honoring our parents made the top 10. In our world, it is all too common to see families split apart, dysfunctional, and experiencing heart break. God gave us this commandment to help us focus on who is important. Our parents have given us life. We didn’t come with instruction manuals, so they are doing the best they know how.
Are there parents who mess up? Are there parents who don’t deserve to be honored? Yes to both. (But, remember God loves everyone.) Yet, this commandment comes with a promise. If we do this, however difficult, we live a long, full life.
The others include murder and stealing. Both of these, at least in the United States, are laws of the State as well and punishable by jail time, fines, maybe even death in some cases.
The issues of adultery and coveting directly involve other individuals. Unfortunately, these two seem to have been forgotten in our society. You’ve heard the phrase, “keeping up with the Joneses”? That speaks of coveting, doesn’t it? We should never compare ourselves to others. It can be hard when you see your neighbor living like you would like to live, etc. But God sees our heart.
And what about adultery? Sad to say we see it glorified on the big screen. Movies, TV shows and the like seem to almost feature that kind of behavior. Soap operas are a prime example. We will see the theme of adultery show up throughout the Bible, too. It’s not a new phenomenon. It was serious enough that God commanded us not to do it. People get hurt; he doesn’t want us to get hurt.
So how are you doing with this list. Do you struggle with any of these? Most of us have. Imagine when they were first decreed. When you can picture the scene of the dark clouds, and loud booming thunder and realize that was God connecting with us. These commandments are a big deal. Respect them.
Let’s pray. Lord, I thank you for giving us these commandments. We should remind ourselves daily of these, as well as the simplified version Jesus taught us of loving you and loving others. Help me not to get so caught up in my own stuff. I want to have your eyes to see what you want me to do in this world. I am your hands and feet. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
