The 10 Commandments

As our Creator and the Giver of Life, God and God alone is deserving of our adoration and worship. The temptation is often to set up something else as our god - money, career, science, public opinion... Examine your own life. Where do you rely more on a created thing than God? Because of Who God is, we owe Him our firm faith, our steadfast trust, and ardent love.

The primary sin against the second commandemtn is breaking an oath or swearing a false oath, also called purjury. The commandment also forbids irreverence towards the name of God.

God asks that we set aside one day a week as a day wholly dedicated to Him. On this day we reclaim our dignity as God's adopted children, focusing on who we are, rather than what we produce. The Jewish Sabbath is Saturday. Christians celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day, the day of the Resurrection.

Our parents are due respect and honor because they brought us into this world. This commandment also requires us to respect all legitimate authority. 

This commandment forbis the unlawful killing of any human being, including yourself. It also commands us to take care of our health and avoid abuse of drugs and alcohol. Suicide, abortion and euthanasia are forbidden by God's law.

Violation of the marriage covenant is the primary meaning of adultery. We know from Jewish and Christian teaching that the sixth commandement also requires chastity in all relation, and even in our thoughts and what we say and look at. This commandment restores the original beauty of the human person - made in the image and likeness of God - which includes the flesh.

This commandment tells us no only that we should not take what belongs to another, but that we should show proper respect for the property of others. Employees should also live up to the terms of their employment, and employers have a responsibiity to pay just wages to their employees.

Positively we are commanded to speak the truth and to respect the reputation of others. Lying, gossip, slander, detraction, calumny, and revealing the secrets of others are all violations of this commandment because they damage our own reputation, and, more importantly, the reputation of others. So speak the truth, for "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

God wants us to be chaste not only in body, but in our thoughts and desires as well. Why is God so concerned with our thoughts and desires? Because from within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within and they defile. God wants our hearts to be positively oriented to love of Him and love of our neighbor. 

As the preivous commandment shows, God is concerned with the state of our hearts - that deepest part of us that informs our desires and leads us to take action. For this reason we are forbidden to envy the property or success of others. Only when we are freed from envy can we truly rejoice in the good fortune of our brothers and sisters.