The Ten Commandments Guide Us Towards Love

The Ten Commandments* were written to guide us towards love. They are God’s guidelines to keep us from making choices that cause pain.

You may ask: Will we be punished if we do not follow them?

God won’t punish us when we break any guideline He has set before us, however, we remove God’s hand of protection on our life and open a door for Satan to kill, steal or destroy whatever he can get his hands on.

#1 Thou shall have no other God’s before me. (Ex 20:3)

This means more than what meets the eye. A god, can be your physique, job, popularity, fame, money or even a relationship. Anything that you cherish more than God. By putting God first, we know that whatever happens in life, He will be there for us. People fail us, jobs are lost and bodies breakdown, so if we place our happiness in them, we will be disappointed. God never fails us.

#2 Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image. (Ex 20:4)

We should not stand before a statue- for instance the Virgin Mary or any saint- and worship them. Jesus Christ is the one who died for us and is deserving of our praise and worship. Even Mary- a teenager chosen to give birth to the Savior of the world due to her obedient life- referred to Jesus as her Savior. (Luke 1:31) Mary knew all the glory and honor is His alone. No one else can bless us or supernaturally help us. And by no other name can we be saved for eternity.

#3 Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain

To take the Lord’s name in vain is to misuse the name of the Lord by swearing. It can also mean to casually use the name of the Lord. For instance, most of us have heard celebrities referred to as “gods.” This use of the name of God is blasphemy. All reference to any part of the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit must be with respect and reverence.

#4 Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy (Ex 20:8)

We are guided to stop working on Sunday. God can use 6 days income stretch further than a 7 day work week if we follow this commandment. He made the Israelites shoes never wear out while in the desert for 40 years. This example shows us that when we follow the Lord, our belongings can last much longer than they “should” based on God’s supernatural ability to help us. Honoring the Sabbath gives us time to enjoy the blessings we already have, first and foremost our family. Having one set day a week without job obligations will make the entire family enjoy this day immensely. Going to church together and then planning a day filled with family activities-even if it is doing work around the house as a family- will tighten the family bond.

There are two prominent companies in America today, that have honored the Sabbath and closed their doors on Sunday: Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A. Both are highly successful companies and both choose to obey the Bible. Chick-fl-A was never open on Sunday and Hobby Lobby chose to honor this commandment later- which brought in a supernatural blessing of increased profits. Read the Hobby Lobby story here.

#5 “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Any time we break a commandment it is sin. Our parents may make us angry but we are to be angry yet not sin.

^” Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Eph 4:26)

Sin separates us from God which removes our protection and closes God’s ear to our prayers.

“For we know that the Lord doesn’t listen to sinners, but to those who worship Him and do His will.”(John 9:31)

Therefore keeping this and all Commandments will bless us. This Commandment specifically tells us how we will be blessed by following it: we will live long and things will go well for us.

If we had an abusive parent who has not repented of his/her actions, all we can do is pray for that parent and ask God to help us forgive them for their horrific actions towards us. Doing this keeps us in right standing with the Lord.

#6 Thou shall not Kill

Killing is wrong period- and this includes an unborn child. If we find ourselves in a situation where an attacker is about to kill us we need to call out to Jesus who can save us.

#7 Thou Shall Not commit adultery

Committing adultery is longing for what is not ours. It goes beyond taking somebody’s spouse to bed. It can be simply lusting after another person who isn’t our spouse. It can be an emotional bond not of God but of Satan. Adultery leads to jealousy and bitterness and bitterness makes us sick and can kill us.

“Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity.”(Job 21-25)

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”(Ephesians 4:31-32)

#8 Thou shall not steal

Taking what is not ours shows a lack of faith in God’s provision. Faith becomes substance- we must believe and act on God’s Word as pure Truth. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We can count on His provision.

#9 Thou shall not bear false witness

To bear false witness is to knowingly state a lie about someone. This not only harms the person we lied about but it harms us as well. We cause death to our spiritual life, meaning the closeness we have with God. As in all commandments, God will not listen to the prayers of a sinner, but one who worships Him and does His will.

#10 Thou shall not covet (Ex 20:17)

Desiring something that doesn’t belong to us can lead to many problems- especially if we act on our emotion. Chasing after something instead of enjoying the blessings we already have, is never an emotion God supports. If we stay in season and enjoy the blessings of God, we will never be short changed in life.

The 10 Commandments are based on love. The first 4 show our love of God and the last 6 show how we can love others, including ourselves. When we base our life on love we will receive love in return.

“Give and it shall be given to you a good measure shaken down and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured unto you.”(Luke 6:38)

The disciples asked Jesus which Commandment is greatest. He then summarized the Ten into two. He said that the law or the 10 Commandments as well as all Prophecy are based on showing His people how they can remain in His love and protection. Therefore, this list is not to keep us from anything, rather it is a list of boundaries to show us that we will remain fully blessed when we agree with these statements and do them.

The Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”(John 14:21)

Scripture shows us that breaking God’s Word leads to death, it is first a Spiritual death that separates us from God and eventually it will destroy our body as well. If we refuse to confess our sin we are putting our soul in jeopardy of being separated from God forever after we die. We are clouding our mind to the truth and cannot hear the Holy Spirit’s warnings.

I raised my children to think of God as they would our parent/child relationship. Many times we won’t understand His guidelines, much like children have no idea why they can do certain things. But what we do know is that God’s boundaries are to keep us safe and avoid disaster down the road.

Trust in God’s Word is the key to a fruitful life full of blessings and joy. Let’s encourage each other to take the warnings and guidelines of the Lord seriously and teach our children to do the same.

Food for Thought,

Lisa

*The Catholic Ten Commandments removed Commandment two because they worship the statue of Mary and other saints. They then divided commandment 10 into two to make 10. We must remember that it is sin to remove any Word from God’s law.

“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)