How Well Will You Do?

In Exodus 20, Moses came down from Mt. Sinai carrying two tablets with rules written with God’s own hand. They became known as the Ten Commandments. In this day and age, do all these rules still apply? More importantly, how well do you follow the list? You might be proud to say you follow them well since you love God, and don’t steal, kill, or commit adultery.

Maybe there’s more to it than you think. Let’s see, shall we?

1. You shall have no other gods before Me. God wants our loyalty, yet we are more loyal to our favorite movie star than we are God. We will wait in line for days to see the latest Star Wars, yet find excuses to not go to church on Sunday or to join a small group to get closer to Him. What do you put ahead of God?
2. You shall not make idols. We are not to bow down and worship any other God, yet we spend very little time with our Bibles or God. Where you spend your time is where your heart is. So, where’s your heart?
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. We should respect His name. Maybe you don’t use His name in vain, but how often do you read books, watch movies or televisions shows that do? Isn’t that the same thing?
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Why is “remember” the first word? Is it because God knew with work, kids, and wanting to sleep in we’d forget? I wish we’d see as much hoopla about going to church as we have about the Jaguars making it into the playoffs. Maybe then we wouldn’t have over 100 homicides each year in Jacksonville.
5. Honor your father and your mother. This is about respecting parental authority. And if you respect parental authority, you’ll respect other authority, like teachers and police officers. How well do you do with this one? Most people do well, as long as it’s convenient for them. But when Mom calls in the middle of the day asking to be driven to the store, are you always on hand, or have you made excuses? Remember she’s only here on Earth for a limited time.
6. You shall not murder. This is about respect for human life. Most of us don’t go out and kill others, but have you ever harmed another with your words? Too often we complain about gang members who don’t have respect for the sanctity of human life, but don’t we fall into the same field when we vote for someone who supports abortion?
7. You shall not commit adultery. I’m sure most of you have never had an affair, but have you ever looked at another with lust in your heart? That is a form of adultery. An affair never begins in the bedroom, it begins in your mind.
8. You shall not steal. Okay, so you’ve never robbed a bank, but have you taken time away from work to check your cell phone or make personal calls or texts? How many office pens are in your purse? Sure the boss may not mind, but isn’t it stealing their time to do these personal things?
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. This means you should not lie, even if that dress does make your best friend look fat. There are ways to say it’s not flattering without hurting her feelings. Humans usually lie before they do any other sin, that’s why it’s so important to try to be honest. The more you lie, the more willing you are to move on to something else.
10. You shall not covet. You should not desire what others have. Do you look at another’s car and wish you had one also? Or a bigger house? Too often we allow “wants” to get us into trouble. That’s why we have bankruptcy court and people mortgaging their house to play the lottery. It’s all about wanting what we don’t have.

So how’d you do? I failed miserably, but it’s never too late to try harder.

In Matthew 22:37, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If we were to follow this one rule, wouldn’t it make it easier to follow the other ten?

If you are in need of any prayer, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to pray for you.