The Inspiring Vision of the Ten Commandments
I’m pretty sure when most people think of the Ten Commandments – if they think of them at all – they don’t think, “Wow! What a vision!”
I suspect that most people’s thoughts run more along the lines of dismissive irritation – with rules, with authority, etc. – and a sense of historical superiority which if put into words might sound like, “That is so old, so it must be irrelevant, backwards, or mired in ignorance.”
In the West, particularly in America, we used to be a society where enough people recognized the grandeur of the Ten Commandments that they were displayed in prominent places throughout society as a source of inspiration and guidance. Over time memories have faded. Too few people now remember why these now seemingly archaic symbols were given places of prominence.
I think human nature hasn’t changed all that much over these years. We still need aspirational visions – visions of who we could be as a people and as a society – and even though it may have been forgotten, that is exactly what the Ten Commandments are.
As briefly as I can, let me tell you or remind you why the Ten Commandments aren’t oppressive laws but an inspiring vision for human flourishing; not a curse, but an incredible blessing.
Let me mention a few things up front. First, I’ll unpack the Ten Commandments in reverse order. I think it is easier for people who don’t believe in God to get on board when you start there. The theological richness of the Ten Commandments cannot be avoided – and I wouldn’t want to try – but I think beginning at the end will help everyone end up in the same place once we get to the beginning.
Second, the Ten Commandments are best understood and interpreted not as a list of “don’ts” but as an aspirational vision for human flourishing. It is God succinctly expressing God’s love, God’s dream, God’s vision for humanity. Each one is anchored in a God-initiated relationship between people and God their rescuer. Each “commandment” is best understood not in a “Don’t do ….” formula but as a relational statement of how things are or will be – “Because of who I am to you, you won’t …” Each commandment is an indicative statement of how things will be under a right relationship with God.
This might sound a bit big-headed but it’s actually not. I’m sure you’ve heard versions of it before growing up. Likely your mom or dad or someone said something to you at some point like, “We don’t do things like that.” or “We do this because it’s who we are and who we want to be.” These kinds of statements aren’t anchored in rules, but in identity, values, and a vision of something higher. The Ten Commandments operate that way.
Third, to grasp and appreciated the implications of the Ten Commandments you have to try to imagine what the world would be like if everyone was somehow hardwired to follow these things and couldn’t violate them. God wants people to have a choice and free will, but imagining things this way helps us grasp what things would be like if everyone chose the way God wants us to.
So here we go, stretching our imaginations and unpacking the awe inspiring vision of the Ten Commandments (Found in Exodus 20:1-17).
#10 – You Won’t Envy Other People or Long for What Isn’t Rightfully Yours
Can you imagine what the world would be like if it wasn’t possible for anyone to envy or wrongfully long for what isn’t rightfully theirs? How would this change marriages, friendships, sibling relationships, business dealings, and government operations? What if all we were capable of was being happy for each other over the good things in each others’ lives? How would this affect people’s sense of contentment, anxiety, and depression? A world shaped by this is the vision and dream of God.
#9 – You Won’t Lie
Can you imagine what the world would be like if people didn’t and couldn’t lie? Would lawyers still have jobs? How much heartache, how many lives, and how much wealth is lost every year over lies and distrust? How would this affect relationships and families? A world shaped by this is the vision and dream of God.
#8 – You Won’t Steal
Imagine a world where no one could or ever would steal anything, would never take anything that wasn’t rightfully theirs. How would people live differently in a world like that? A world shaped by this the vision and dream of God.
#7 – You Won’t Have Sex With People You Aren’t Married To
This is probably a touchy one for some people, but if you were God and knew of all the broken homes, the hurt, the heartache, and the dysfunction that sex with people you aren’t married to brings into the world, what would you tell people? What would the world be like if no one could or ever would have sex with someone they weren’t married to? How would this change the reality for families and children? How would this change the rate of fatherless households? How would this change how women walk through the world? What about all the little boys and little girls who would never know sexual abuse? What would this do to sex trafficking and all its victims? Imagine living in a world shaped by this one commandment and you can begin to imagine a world shaped by the vision and dream of God.
#6 – You Won’t Murder
This one is probably less touchy for everyone. After all, no one likes to be murdered. Can you imagine a world where people believed that “people don’t murder people, “ and it was true? How would this affect our communities and how we live in them? How would this affect how we walk through the world? How would this change governments – the far and away greatest perpetrators of murder (See Democide)? A world shaped like this is the vision and dream of God.
#5 – You Will Respect Your Father and Mother (and Elders)
I know that there is quite a spectrum of parents out there, ranging from demon red to angel white and every shade in between. Neither God nor the authors of this text were blind to this reality or to the complexities of humanity. In its cultural context, I think the heart of this teaching is best expressed in a quote from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who said, “The measure of a society is measured in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens.” What would our world be like if everyone’s bent was to treat the weakest and most helpless neighbors with kindness and compassion? A world shaped by this is the vision and dream of God.
#4 – Everyone Will Set Aside One Day Every Week To Rest & Be Grateful to God
Can you imagine how the world would change if everyone compulsively took a full day off every week to rest and practice gratitude? How would that change our hearts, how we treat each other, and how we hold our lives and all we’ve been given? If you can begin to imagine a world where everyone practiced this every week then you’re beginning to imagine the vision and dream of God.
#3 – You Will Not Attempt To Use God or The Things of God For Your Own Ends
This is the real meaning of you will not “misuse the name of the Lord.” It means you will not use God or the things of God for your own aggrandizement, to gain wealth or power or fame for yourself. It means you will not attempt to make God a tool in your hand, a way to get what you want. Can you imagine what the world would be like today if people couldn’t or never would violate this? How would history be different? How would the Church be different? How would people’s assumptions about God be different? Where else would people’s energies, creativity, and resources go when it can’t go to the misuse of the name of God? A world shaped by this is the vision and dream of God.
#2 & 1 – You Will Not Make Anything The Object of Your Ultimate Loyalty & Affection But God. You Will Always Put God First.
About sixteen hundred years ago, Saint Augustine wrote that “The essence of sin [brokenness, fallen-ness, evil, etc.] is disordered love.” About five hundred years ago, Martin Luther pointed out that we never break the other commandments without breaking the first one. Giving our ultimate love and loyalty to something that doesn’t deserve it, that isn’t big enough for it, leads to negative outcomes in our own lives and in the world. Putting God first, loving God first, sets us free to love everyone else and everything else as they should be loved. Putting God first orders our heart and rightly orders our love. Can you imagine a world where everyone had centered and happy hearts? Where everyone walked around with a deep sense of contentment, peace, and connectedness? Begin to imagine that world and you’ve begun to imagine the vision and dream of God.
# Preamble – I, God, belong to you, and you belong to me. I am the ONE who rescues you.
The Ten Commandments begin with a statement of relationship, of belonging, and a foundation for faith and hope that isn’t based on circumstances. It isn’t one of the commandments, but it is how the commandments begin and the foundation they are resting on. Faith, hope, and love. It’s a wonderful foundation to build a vision upon for a society and for the world.
The Ten Commandments. I think it’s worth remembering, celebrating, and aspiring towards.
You may also be interested in:
