Living the Ten
Commandments: A Timeless Guide to Faith and Community
(Based on the lesson given to the Karen Zoom class on April 8, 2021)
The Ten Commandments are divided
into two parts:
- The First Part: This focuses on our
relationship with God—teaching us how to honour, love, and trust him.
- The Second Part: This emphasizes our duties toward our neighbours—calling us to live with kindness, integrity, and respect.
Jesus beautifully summarized these commandments in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The First Commandment: A Call
to Undivided Loyalty
“You shall have no other gods before me” is not just a prohibition but a profound invitation to place God at the centre of our lives. This commandment calls us to turn away from idolatry and serve the one true God wholeheartedly.
Understanding Idolatry
Idolatry is not merely about
bowing to statues. It’s about anything that competes with God for our ultimate
devotion. Here are some modern forms of idolatry to watch out for:
- Material Possessions: Wealth can quickly
become an idol. As the rich young man learned in Mark 10:22, possessions
can lure our hearts away from God.
- Greed: Paul warns in Ephesians 5:5 that
greed is a form of idolatry.
- Pleasure: When we place the pursuit of
pleasure above all else, we stray (2 Timothy 3:4).
- Food and Comfort: Philippians 3:19 cautions
against making our appetites our god.
- The World: 1 John 2:15-17 reminds us not to
love the world or its desires, as they can pull us away from the Father.
Loyalty to God Alone
God calls us to choose him over
all competing allegiances. Consider these powerful passages:
- Choose Whom You Will Serve: Elijah’s
confrontation against the Baal prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16-45)
and Joshua’s challenge (Joshua 24:15) echo the same call: “Choose this day
whom you will serve.”
- Trust God Alone: Jeremiah 17:5-7 contrasts
the cursed life of trusting in man with the blessed life of trusting in
God.
- Turn to the True God: The Thessalonians
turned from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9).
- A Believer’s Confession: Isaiah 44:5
highlights the boldness of declaring, “I am the Lord’s.”
Living Out the Commandments
The Ten Commandments are more than rules; they’re a pathway to a flourishing life. The first part teaches us to anchor our lives in God, while the second part challenges us to reflect his love in our interactions with others. Both aspects are inseparably intertwined, as loving God fuels our ability to love others.
Take time to reflect: Are there areas in your life where idolatry has crept in? What steps can you take to re-centre your loyalty on God? And how can you better love your neighbour as yourself?
Let’s embrace the wisdom of the Ten Commandments and allow them to shape our lives, drawing us closer to God and one another. In doing so, we live out the greatest commandments—to love God and to love our neighbours—every single day.
(First commandment to be continued.)
