The 10 Commandments!

What are the 10 commandments? Do people really care about them any more or even follow them? I think that for many Americans the 10 commandments have become obsolete, unimportant, commandments reserved only for Christians not for everyone else. It is a shame really. The 10 commandments at their basic level are 10 important ways to govern our lives, ways to honor God, our family and our neighbor and yet for many of us they don't have any significance in our daily practices. Sure we agree with the statements "don't kill, steal or commit adultery." But who cares about making idols, or honoring our parents, or remembering the Sabbath- do they really have any significance in my life? And yet when we look at each of the commandments individually there is a lot in those simple phrases. To honor the sabbath and keep it holy means that we take a day of rest and in this day and age, finding time to relax, to be quiet, to enjoy being with friends and family can help us stay healthy, whole and help us to live full lives. God's intention for us to be still and to know Him means that we have to take time out of the busyness of our lives and to focus on godly things. What about not making idols? Our culture is full of idols, we idolize, fame, money, power, wealth, our friends wii games and more and yet when we idolize things our focus is now no longer on God but on this world. In idolizing things we begin to covet (another no no) other people's lives, things, homes families and we lose sight of being grateful of the things we do have. When we compare and covet another's things we may do things (steal or use our power) to get those things and in the process hurt others. So while we think that the 10 commandments are obsolete they are not. They can help us to have whole lives, lives that are honoring to God and to our neighbor. So this year we are going to take a journey through the 10 commandments and see how they can shape us and help us to live full and healthy lives that are honoring and pleasing to God, our family and our neighbor.