The Ten Commandments
Everyone has heard of The Ten Commandments, they have made up their own funny commandments, mocked them, etc. But what people don't realize is that God gave these commandments not only for His chosen people back when the Jews were rescued out of Egypt but for everyone today.
The Commandments are guidelines to live by every single day, every one of us has fallen short of these Commandments- The Bible says in Romans 3:23: For all of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
I'm going to list off The Ten Commandments and give an explanation of the verses as well. The Commandments are found in Exodus 20.
- You shall have no other gods before Me
- This is a pretty obvious statement here, basically, you are to have no other false gods that you believe in. This also means that you could have made a materiel item your god, something that you really like and put all of your time into and set it before God Himself. This also means that you cannot say something along the lines of, "My god would do x or not do x".
- You shall not make for yourself a carved image
- This means that you should not worship an idol or item, God is the only person that is worthy to be worshiped- this does not mean that you should make an idol of Him and worship it.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain
- This is pretty self-explanatory, don't use the Lord's name as a cuss or slang, this includes saying, "Oh my God" in a derogatory way- Saying this in a way that is praising to God is alright. The way you use God's name is the way you feel about Him. Remember that the very name of God is Holy and perfect, whenever you use His name as a cuss you are turning His name into the complete opposite.
- Remember the Sabbath day
- The Sabbath day is a day of rest, it's normally considered the last day of the week, Sunday. In the Old Testament, you were not to do any type of labor. It was a time to rest and worship God. In the New Testament, the Sabbath can be considered a day of rest, a day to reflect, study and worship Christ. This doesn't mean that you cannot work on a Sunday, it means that you need to have one day of rest, worship and reflection.
- Honor your father and mother
- I would say this is also self-explanatory.
- You shall not kill
- This may sound self-explanatory, but if you truly hate someone, you have committed murder in your heart. This is found in 1st John 3:14.
- You shall not commit adultery
- Adultery can be considered physical and or lusting after someone, this does not mean that you cannot recognize beauty. Lusting is the act of intense dwelling on someone leading to sexual thoughts. Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28 You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not commit adultery". But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- You shall not steal
- I'll state the obvious; do not take what is not yours even if you do not know who the owner is.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
- This means do not gossip about about anyone, do not tell lies about them or anything that would render them in a negative way. Spreading rumors or even truth that is no one's business is wrong.
- You shall not covet
- This means that you should not long for someone else's blessings, items, money, etc. It's fine to work for items, but to put all of your attention on obtaining something is wrong. This includes this thought that I'm sure all of us have had at one point in our lives, "I wish I could have that, why do they always get that and I don't?".