March 19th

Picky, Picky, Picky!

Exodus 20:1-17
1 Corinthians 1:18-25



The story is told of a missionary serving in a remote part of Africa, who was attempting to convert a native chief to Christianity. Now, the chief was very old, and the missionary was very Old Testament—that is, his version of Christianity leaned heavily on the “Thou shalt nots!”

The elderly chief listened patiently and finally said, “I do not understand this religion of yours. You mean I cannot steal?”

“That’s right!” said the missionary.

“You mean I cannot take my neighbor’s wife?”

“Quite right!”

“Or his ivory or his oxen?”

“Precisely!” answered the missionary.

“You mean I cannot dance the war dance? I cannot ambush the enemy? I can’t kill?”

“Absolutely right,” said the missionary.

Then the native chief said regretfully, “But I can’t do any of those things anyway—I am too old!” Then, with a wave of the hand, the aged chief added, “To be old, and to be Christian—it is the same thing!”

Well, as much as the old chief’s words may sting, there is some wisdom in them. Many people cite the picky and negative nature of much of religious tradition as their main reason for not being part of a community of faith. And who can blame them? We have some seriously detailed-oriented religious folks in the world today. Some might call them obsessive—or worse.

Take Old Testament Law for example. Now, I have mentioned this fact in previous sermons, but it bears repeating here. Did you know that by the time all is said and done, there are actually 613 laws? This doesn’t take into account all the additional rules and regulations some of the religious authorities of Jesus’ time added to the list. Good grief people! We can’t even keep the original 10!

Many people look at the negative tone of the 10 Commandments, and immediately think, “No thank you. No one is going to tell me what I can and cannot do—especially if those rules come from writings that are thousands of years old!” See, some folks look at what they see as the negative tone of the commandments, and feel their freedoms are being violated somehow. And you know how people are—especially we Americans—it is all about the freedom! But rather than limit our freedom, the 10 Commandments are actually designed to give us freedom!
So, what I want to do this morning is try something a little different. I want us to symbolically “rewrite” the 10 Commandments in a positive voice. Maybe by going through this little exercise together we can gain some more insight to the positive message of the 10 Commandments.

Here goes…

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”

Translation: God first. God before our jobs, God before our partners, God before our families. Even God before “church work” (after all, sometimes there is a difference between doing something for God and “church work”) But why God first? Because it is God who brought us—and continues to bring us--- out of the bondage of sin in our lives. While we will never be perfect, it is because of God’s grace that we can be brought into a freer, more peaceful existence than we have ever experienced before in our lives trying to juggle all those other “gods” we tend to serve.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol…” OK. How about “Worship God in spirit and in truth?” Let’s free ourselves from worrying about whether God is male or female, and how we express that. Let’s free ourselves from worrying about how much we think we know about the mind of God! Once we are able to put God first in our lives, and accept the truth that there are just some things (probably a lot of things) about God that we cannot know, we are on the way to true freedom in our lives.

“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God…” Use God’s name with reverence and respect. This commandment is about more than just not cursing. In ancient contexts, a name signified more than a convenient label. One’s name related closely to the very being of that person. This commandment is a reminder of God’s holiness. Whenever we use God’s name, we are invoking God’s presence! That is some serious stuff, folks! God’s wonderful gifts to us are worthy of our highest praise. Reverence and respect are very positive responses to these gifts.

“Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” Translation: Take some quality time off to spend alone with God. Take some time off from everything—frantic work, frantic consumption, even frantic leisure! That’s right, even frantic leisure! Ever notice how many times we are more tired when we come back from a vacation then when we left? Why is that? Well, usually it is because we feel like we have to do everything in just a few short days to get the most “bang for our buck.” Then we come home, and what is usually the first thing we do? Take a nap!

Take intentional time to be alone with God. What’s more positive and freeing than relaxing—really relaxing—and enjoying a time of renewal and refreshment with the One who makes all things possible? Your time of renewal may be Sunday, but it could be any other day of the week as well. Remember the words of Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.” It’s a gift, folks—not a burden.

“Honor your father and mother.” For many people obeying this commandment is not difficult, as their parents loved and cared for them, and modeled mostly good values for them. For others this commandment is negative; it is especially hard for those of us who have suffered abuse from one or both of our parents or other caregivers.

But think about it. We all have had at least one positive adult role model in our lives. These are the people who may have raised us in spite of our parents; or they may simply have been there for us in our darkest hours, guiding us to make wise choices for our lives. The word translated “honor” in Hebrew means “give weight to.” In the context of the children of Israel it meant ensuring the successful transfer of the covenantal vision from one generation to the next. For us, this commandment can take the form of taking care of our seniors, giving appropriate weight to their wisdom so we may learn from them, and passing their wisdom on to those younger than us. Obeying this commandment isn’t restrictive or negative; it is life giving.

“You shall not murder.” Respect life. All life. We respect the life God has given us, and we respect the lives of others. Life belongs to God because it is God who has given life to us. We don’t have to get even, folks! When we get that thought through our heads, it frees us to focus on more positive and life-affirming activities like feeding the hungry rather than killing them in war, then calling them “collateral damage.”

“Thou shall not commit adultery.” Translation: respect relationship covenants—not only yours’, but those of others’ as well. When we cross relationship boundaries, not only are we guilty of adultery, we can also be guilty of murder. By that comment I mean we can destroy relationships between others and ourselves. We can destroy the life and love and trust between others and ourselves. By obeying this command, we are not restricting ourselves, we are celebrating God’s gift of human love and relationship. By obeying this command, we are free to love in a way that clears our lives of the clutter that the deceit, guilt, and pain that dishonesty in our relationships brings.

“You shall not steal.” Translation: Respect the property of others. That property includes intangible assets, too; for example, respect the dignity of others. Respect the boundaries of others. Respect the opinions of others—whether we agree with them or not. This commandment does not restrict us; it builds people up.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Speak only the truth. That is the whole truth, by the way. A half-truth is not truth at all. When we present something about an individual or a situation as true when we do not know that it is, we can be guilty of not only bearing false witness, but also we can be guilty of stealing and murder as well. We can steal a person’s reputation—we can even kill it. Falsehoods and half-truths damage and destroy people, relationships, and institutions—including churches!

Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love. Scripture tells us we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free. And by the way, just because we might know the truth about a person or situation does NOT mean we are obligated to share it! The next time we are about to share some information, why not ask ourselves these questions, “How will this sharing make a positive difference? How will this sharing build up the community?” If the sharing doesn’t make a positive difference or build anyone up other than ourselves, maybe we should just keep our mouths shut. Amen?

“You shall not covet…” In other words, be content with what you have. This is not to say it is wrong to work hard to make a decent living and have nice things. It is when we want what others have so bad that those things become our goals in life that we begin to break all the other commandments. We begin to worship the idols of materialism, we may forget about our elders, lie, cheat, and steal to claw our way to the top. Worst of all, we forget God, and guess what? We end up right back in bondage.

OK, so what are the points of the 10 Commandments? Respect, freedom, and love. If we take the commandments to heart, following them can lead to true freedom, to be the people God has created us to be, and to whole relationships where real love and intimacy can prevail. Still, it is a lot of information isn’t it? How do we keep track of all the details? The truth is, we can’t.

But the good news today is that Jesus Christ took the Ten Commandments and summed them up for us: “Love the Lord your God above all things, and love your neighbor as yourself.” He said on these two commandments rested all the law and prophets. From 10 commandments to 613-plus laws to 2. And there is only one detail to remember: love. And from love, respect and freedom can follow.

The 10 Commandments. The freedom to love—God’s way.

Now, THAT is true power for positive living!

God bless you amen.