Enough Already! Back to Love, Back to The Commandments!

Is it no wonder that the world is in the predicament it is in?  For decades now we have very subtly been losing our humanness and becoming more like wild animals filled with an instinct not to love and care about one another but to prey upon one another for own satisfaction and enjoyment.  In some ways it all goes back to the breakthrough television sitcom, “All in The Family”.  The Bunker household was filled with insults, put-downs, bigotry, intolerance, etc.  And we LOVED IT!  And if one sitcom like that was a success, then surely a dozen more would be even better.  Roseanne, The Simpsons, South Park, just to name a few, were all highly watched shows wrapped around the premise of putting people down and belittling others as much as possible.  With such a steady diet of it we became so numb to it all that I don’t think we even realized it happened.  It has come to seem so normal!

Trash talk is no longer limited to politicians.  Everybody does it!  And worst of all, the supposed leaders of the Christian community can be found doing it and so can the “rank and file.”  And then Christians wonder why the world has the opinion of them that they have.  Could it just be that we brought this on ourselves by our own lack of Christian behavior?  I think it’s more that high time that we be re-introduced to the Ten Commandments—and not just the commandments according to the letter of the law, but what they really mean according to the spirit of the law!

For all of you out there who grew up Lutheran and had to memorize Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, I would urge you go back and re-read his explanations to the Ten Commandments.  For those of you who became Lutheran later in life but never really got into Luther’s Small Catechism, I would encourage you to check out his explanations of the Commandments.  And to those of you who have no clue what a Lutheran is or could care less, the beauty of checking this out is that it applies to everybody whether you are a Christian in general, a Lutheran Christian in particular, or even an avowed atheist! 

For Lutherans the Commandments aren’t just Laws to be obeyed.  The Commandments are all about Love.  Love is one of those words that can be hard to precisely define with a dictionary definition.  One can, however, define love through example—hence (love that word!) the Bible says in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”  Love defined by example.  Christians can talk all they want about love in general and God’s love in particular, but until we are willing to get beyond talk and actually reflect love (particularly God’s love in Christ) through what we say and do, we are as the apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 13:1, “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  There is enough noise in the world as it is.  The world needs to hear and see the sweet, sweet sound of the love of God as it has come to us through the grace and mercy of Christ.  Okay, I digress (love that word, too).  Back to the Commandments!

I won’t share all of the commandments but just a few.  Consider what Luther says, for what he says is really only what the Bible says.  (You might want to also check out Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as that is great commentary on the commandments and love.)  You want to see what love looks like, see the commandments.  And again, get beyond the letter and reflect on the spirit of them.

The 5^th Commandment: You shall not murder.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need. 

Wow!  Did you catch that—murder is more than just taking someone’s physical life!

7^th Commandment:  You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. 

Holy Cow!  I am my brother’s keeper!

8^th Commandment:  You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way. 

Whoa!  The pressure is on with this explanation!  Not only is there a lot slander and betrayal by politicians toward other politicians and citizens, but we have gotten in on the act as well.  Imagine what Facebook would like if in our posts we concerned ourselves with respecting others and their opinions, whether we like the opinion or the person or not.  One can only imagine what Facebook would look like if, instead of tearing each other apart with our insults and put-downs, we actually tried to understand where each other is coming from and considered them and their opinions in the kindest way (or as the catechism used to say—put the best construction on everything).

Love the Lord your God with all your heart summarizes the first three commandments.  The rest are summarized by love your neighbor as yourself.  And Love—that is the epitome of all ten of them! 

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are born again of water and the spirit.  We are no longer dead in trespasses and sins, but alive in Christ; new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.  The life we live we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself up for us (Galatians 2:20)!  If we don’t start modeling the faith in words and deeds that stem from love, how will the world ever know what love really is?  How will world ever come to know the freedom of the Gospel and eternal life in Christ.  If not you and me, then who?