Yesterday I wrapped up a summer sermon series on the Ten Commandments. I've spent a lot of time thinking about the commandments and what they look like in our lives over the past couple months, and one of the many things I've realized is that, in a way, the Second through Tenth Commandments help us keep the First Commandment (You shall have no other gods). Let me explain my reasoning.
The Second Commandment (You shall not make for yourself an image) focuses on how we worship God. If we worship God our way instead of His way, it's quickly becomes easy for us to worship not the true God but a "God" of our own design.
The Third Commandment (You shall not misuse the name of the LORD) instructs us to give God the glory He is due. If we talk about God in a disrespectful or flippant way, it can become more difficult for us to really trust that He is real and in control. Then we're more likely to turn somewhere else for our security.
The Fourth Commandment (Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy) is a safeguard to keep us from turning our own work and efforts into our god. This commandment reminds us that ultimately it's God who provides for us and makes us secure.
The Fifth Commandment (Honor your father and your mother) teaches us to respect the authorities God has set over us as a way of respecting God's ultimate authority. It also reminds those of us who have authority that our authority comes from God; we are not free to do whatever we want.
The Sixth Commandment (You shall not murder) reminds us that only God has the power of life and death. We may not think we are gods and have the power to destroy others, nor may we let our anger, hatred, or desire for revenge control our lives.
The Seventh Commandment (You shall not commit adultery) keeps us from making pleasure and sexual desire the most important thing in our lives. Sex is a gift from God and must be enjoyed according to God's rules.
The Eighth Commandment (You shall not steal) teaches us not to make gods out of our possessions and material things. God tells us that we find contentment in Him, not all the stuff we have.
The Ninth Commandment (You shall not give false testimony) is a safeguard against the temptation to put our reputation first in our lives and say whatever we want to make ourselves look good and others look bad. God reminds us that we are accountable to Him and so must speak the truth.
The Tenth Commandment (You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor) instructs us to keep our priorities straight. We may not desire anything more than God. Having proper desires is a safeguard against allowing other things to become the most important things in our lives. We live by God's rules, not another set of rules.
Now there's a lot more to the Ten Commandments than what I've laid out here, but I think this is valuable because it's often easy for us to think about the commandments as ten distinct things. Each commandment is unique, but they're really not separate. They work together to teach us to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. And when we do that, we show it in part by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Living our way ultimatley leads to misery, so God teaches us the way to joy and peace and true life.
Grace and peace,
BMH
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