Living as God’s People
The Ten Commandments sound (and are often presented) as if they are a list of arbitrary rules, which must be kept … or else. But what if they had been written like this…?
“I am the Lord your God, who bought you out of death, out of your slavery to sin. Why would you want to worship any other ‘god’? What have they done which compares to what I have done? Don’t attribute to anything else the importance which you should give to me, or worship the things that you make, that are of this world-what can they do for you? I am the God who created the world and everything in it. Why turn your back on me and turn to something that can’t help you? It hurts me, and those who do turn away will regret their choice, while those who love me and do what I command will be rewarded. Don’t misuse my name, it’s disrespectful and shows that you don’t care about me.
Keep some of your time special and set apart. You need time to rest and refresh, and to focus on worshipping me, and remembering what I have done for you. You have time to do all you need, but you need time to rest.
Respect your parents, and those older or with more authority than you. You may not always agree with them, but they deserve to be listened to and considered, for they have lived longer than you and have more experience of life. Treat everyone with respect, as you would wish to be treated yourself.
Don’t murder other people or commit adultery, it breaks up families and causes heartache. Don’t steal, or lie. These things show that you are thinking of your own good rather than of other people. They hurt others, and eventually hurt you too. Don’t desire what other people have, for it will make you dissatisfi ed and lead to you doing other things wrong. These commands are for your own good, if you keep them your life will be much happier and you will be setting an example of how I want people to live.”
The Ten Commandments can be found at Deuteronomy 5:6–21