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“You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not
steal.” – Exodus 20:13-15
Of the 10
Commandments these three are the most recognizable or quotable. Why, you might ask? Simple – there are immediate consequences,
established by the law of the governing body overseeing your community. If you murder, you go to jail; If you commit
adultery, you end up in divorce court; if you steal, you go to jail. So, because mankind has place punishment and
consequence behind these commandments, but not the others are they more
important?
We look at the other 7 commandments and cannot trace to an immediate consequence or legal limitation to our lives. Yet, I propose that they hold equally as much importance as these three because all 10 impact your eternal life. What is it in mankind then that would incorporate these 3 into our legal system and not the others? Did early governing bodies believe that they came up with the laws against murder, adultery and stealing on their own? Is there somehow a belief that these laws did not stem from the recorded scriptures from Exodus?
Imagine a society where these were not the law. What value does a life have? What value does love or marriage or a family have? What stops me from taking whatever I want from whomever I want? You can see how these specifically address how we must interact with others around us, and establishes the universality of righteousness. If one were to abandon these 3 commandments as if they never existed, one would have the self-centered freedom to take the life of another whenever they felt the need. Life would be centered around the individual and whatever makes them happy, rather than the goodness of the body of mankind. Can you imagine a society of selfish, arrogant and lawless existence?
In that society, by what power and authority does one governing body have over another to say that it is unlawful to kill someone, or to steal or to rape or commit adultery. If there is no absolute truth and righteousness, no single authority over all things, than we are free to each determine what is right or wrong based on our own choices. Who assigns authority of one over another? I walk down the street in this fictitious world and choose of my own volition that I don’t like someone so I take their life, without remorse, consequence or guilt. It’s simply my choice to reign in authority over them at any given moment. But, in that society, the opposite is also true and someone could take my life just as easily. Without a single ultimate authority, chaos ensues.
The hierarchy of authority must have a single highest end point. That end point is God Almighty, and the laws He established have lasted throughout all time, as the backbone of our moral character, our hope, and our guiding principles for right and wrong. Governments are put in place to uphold what has been deemed as righteous, but they were not the originators of the code. If you can accept these 3 as morally and ethically just and righteous, why do we struggle with the other 7? The 10 Commandments are all of equal importance and significance, when you accept that they are directly spoken from God, the Creator and ultimate Truth in life. Just because you see the immediate consequence of these 3 and not the others, does not minimize the importance in following God’s word.
We look at the other 7 commandments and cannot trace to an immediate consequence or legal limitation to our lives. Yet, I propose that they hold equally as much importance as these three because all 10 impact your eternal life. What is it in mankind then that would incorporate these 3 into our legal system and not the others? Did early governing bodies believe that they came up with the laws against murder, adultery and stealing on their own? Is there somehow a belief that these laws did not stem from the recorded scriptures from Exodus?
Imagine a society where these were not the law. What value does a life have? What value does love or marriage or a family have? What stops me from taking whatever I want from whomever I want? You can see how these specifically address how we must interact with others around us, and establishes the universality of righteousness. If one were to abandon these 3 commandments as if they never existed, one would have the self-centered freedom to take the life of another whenever they felt the need. Life would be centered around the individual and whatever makes them happy, rather than the goodness of the body of mankind. Can you imagine a society of selfish, arrogant and lawless existence?
In that society, by what power and authority does one governing body have over another to say that it is unlawful to kill someone, or to steal or to rape or commit adultery. If there is no absolute truth and righteousness, no single authority over all things, than we are free to each determine what is right or wrong based on our own choices. Who assigns authority of one over another? I walk down the street in this fictitious world and choose of my own volition that I don’t like someone so I take their life, without remorse, consequence or guilt. It’s simply my choice to reign in authority over them at any given moment. But, in that society, the opposite is also true and someone could take my life just as easily. Without a single ultimate authority, chaos ensues.
The hierarchy of authority must have a single highest end point. That end point is God Almighty, and the laws He established have lasted throughout all time, as the backbone of our moral character, our hope, and our guiding principles for right and wrong. Governments are put in place to uphold what has been deemed as righteous, but they were not the originators of the code. If you can accept these 3 as morally and ethically just and righteous, why do we struggle with the other 7? The 10 Commandments are all of equal importance and significance, when you accept that they are directly spoken from God, the Creator and ultimate Truth in life. Just because you see the immediate consequence of these 3 and not the others, does not minimize the importance in following God’s word.
11.
Have no
other God
22.
Do not make
or worship idols
33.
Do not take
the Lord’s name in vain
44.
Keep the
Sabbath holy
55.
Honor your Father
and Mother
66.
Do not murder
77.
Do not
commit adultery
88.
Do not
steal
99.
Do not lie
or give false testimony
110. Do not covet your neighbors possessions or wife
Keep them
all, and live by His word, for He is our ultimate authority and knows what
righteousness is. Mankind does not.
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