The famous biblical Ten Commandments have long been seen as the foundational moral and ethical guide given to us by God as a way to establish the boundaries for how we should live our lives here on this physical Earth. The Christian premise is that it is not possible for us to completely follow these simple basic rules in the attempt for us to be holy enough to be permitted in the presence of God. Our failure to obey even a few simple rules proves our need for Christ and the salvation He offers.
Yet many others look at these rules as just an authoritative way for God to establish his dominance and authority over us. They may view God as a cruel parental figure that just wants to ruin our fun with all these rules and restrictions. He is jealous and authoritative! Do what I say or else you will be punished!
So why does God insist on us following these rules? Does he really need us to? Is it really some sort of scam test that we are destined to fail? After all, it’s our own life and we should be able to do what we want! God can’t tell me what to do! I know what’s best for me! I deserve freedom! What if the Ten Commandments weren’t just spiritual rules—but timeless principles for living a better life?
I think too many people overlook the other critical purpose for which these commandments were truly intended. They aren’t necessarily given to us because God NEEDS us to follow them, but they are given to us because they are actually GOOD for us. We ignore the fact that He’s actually trying to help us!
God is not trying to protect us from Himself; He’s trying to protect us from ourselves.
A simple analogy to this is our basic traffic laws that almost everyone of age is familiar with. The rules of the road are established not because of the mean and cruel authority of the Department of Transportation, but they are set up and enforced for our overall safety and well being. With our vehicles, we have the ability, the tools, and the potential to be VERY dangerous. We have life threatening decisions to make with every turn. The consequences of breaking traffic rules are fairly clear to see:
- Speeding can easily lead to a loss of vehicle control.
- Not stopping at a stop sign or traffic light can cause cars to collide.
- Not staying between the lines can cause collisions and horrible accidents.
Sure, you have the personal freedom to blow through a stop sign, but it’s in your best interest not to. When you break any of the traffic commandments, not only are you putting yourself in danger, but you are putting others in danger as well. However, if everyone follows the rules and does what they are supposed to, it allows the community to function in glorious ways that ultimately benefit everyone. Therefore, our traffic laws have been established to help us take advantage of the great benefits of driving a vehicle, but help mitigate the potential danger of that power. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to freely travel, commerce with others, see the world, and be so much more productive in our vehicles. Are there going to be accidents? Of course! We are imperfect humans that make mistakes, but if everyone makes a serious attempt to follow the rules as best they can, it opens up a world of safety, freedom, and glorious opportunity.
The Commandments and guidance we receive from God can be seen in much the same way. Christian values and principles are designed to create an environment of harmony and safety where we can live and thrive to our collective potential. I don’t think Christians do a good enough job of advertising the Earthly benefits of Biblical beliefs and principles. Of course the salvation message is critical, but there are real benefits to these principles that are meant to be enjoyed in our daily lives and communities.
Let’s take a second look at each of the Ten Commandments—not as divine ultimatums, but as practical tools designed for our benefit. This exercise will break down and review each of the Ten Commandments with the renewed perspective of seeing them purely as a benefit to us. Making sure not to view them as some ultimate test from God or a list of ridiculous authoritative rules to keep us from having fun.
1. You shall have no other Gods before Me.
This opening commandment is all about focus. It centers our lives on a single, trustworthy source of guidance. Our lives are full of distractions and temptations and we need to know which direction our full attention should be drawn. Exactly like a parent, God is the one that has our best interest in mind and therefore He is the only thing we should be focusing on.
Why is this good for us? Properly identifying God and keeping focused on Him points us in the correct direction.
2. You shall not make idols.
Because we often act foolishly, we make the mistake thinking that we’re smarter than God. If we disagree with Him and his guidance, we have an instinctive urge to create new Gods that have a different set of rules that we prefer to agree with. It’s very naive to think we know what’s best for us so it becomes dangerous for us to chase after any priorities or distractions of our own design.
This is obviously not limited to just fictitious religious idols. Anything that draws our attention can become an idol that ultimately could control us in negative ways over the long term. More often than not, these distractions do not have our best interest in mind. How often are we star struck by movie stars, celebrities, or even politicians? Objects like money, drugs, and sex that dominate our attention. All of them are dangerous distractions that violate the first commandment.
Why is this good for us? Distractions cause us to lose focus on the correct direction clearly identified in the first commandment. It’s never good for us to get distracted by something that is not ultimately in our best interest.
While the first two commandments are about what to focus on, this one guides us about HOW to focus. Every time we slight, berate, or ignore God, we slowly teach our brains that God is not someone to respect and honor. When we lose our respect for God, this directly reduces our ability to stay focused.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Why is this good for us? It is critical to keep a clear healthy mind. When we ignore or berate God in our words or actions, it slowly chips away at our ability to stay connected with Him. Losing our connection with Him degrades our ability to stay focused on the important things we need to.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Most of us have had a period of our lives where we experience some sort of burnout. A difficult job or situation that is relentless in its struggle and commitment. Burnout in anything is not healthy. It leads to exhaustion, poor quality, and is ultimately not sustainable. Unfortunately it is often celebrated in our world, but carries a significant cost that is most often not worth the sacrifice. Rest and recovery is a critical rule of nature that physically can’t be ignored. Muscles need time to rest to become stronger after a workout. Healing takes place during rest. Our busy minds are no different needing time to sleep and process the constant overload of input and stimulation.
Why is this good for us? Allowing time for our bodies and minds to recharge allows us to go further over the long haul. It ultimately leads to better quality in our work and better functioning of our bodies.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
Similar to commandment 2, we are fools to think that we know what’s best for us. If they do their job correctly, our parents have seen the world and know the challenges that we will face. They can teach us life lessons and offer us answers to questions that we don’t even know to ask. Our parents and elders are a valuable resource to us for guidance, leadership, and protection from enemies that we don’t even know exist. It is critical that we respect their experience and the efforts they make for our well being.
Why is this good for us? Honoring our parents allows them to better guide and help us in our struggles. Very similar to learning God, the more we respect and honor them, the more open and susceptible we are to learn their wise teachings.
6. You shall not murder.
This one is probably one of the more obvious commandments. You could even bundle violence within this commandment as a means to inflict harm or pain to others.
Why is this good for us? I don’t want to walk around with the constant fear of being murdered. It’s a safe bet to assume others would like to avoid that as well.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
Not sure if you know this, but life can be incredibly challenging. We need help. We need a spouse that can share the pains of our journey and be the solution for our weaknesses. Many people seem to not understand that men and women are created differently for very good reasons. In a long term committed relationship, it’s critical for us to take advantage of those differences and work together as a team to collaborate through life’s challenges. Infidelity destroys that critical partnership. Trust gets broken. Intimacy fails. People get hurt.
Why is this good for us? Infidelity damages the quality of our relationship which in turn damages our ability to connect and thrive with our spouse. We NEED that pure connection with our partner to provide ourselves a feeling of completeness and purpose.
8. You shall not steal.
If you steal from someone, it creates an environment where someone is likely to steal from you. Much like the traffic laws, we expect others to follow the same guidelines which is safest and ultimately best for everyone.
Why is this good for us? It is much healthier for us to live in a community of safety, honesty, and integrity. Less stress. More cooperation. A better way for us to live.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Lying, gossip, cheating all lead to an environment of mistrust. We rely on the cooperation of others to work together to accomplish great things. We need all the correct information to make informed decisions. Being honest with people creates dependability and a foundation of safety and trust.
Why is this good for us? We excel individually when we can work together as a team. Honesty allows for much smoother communication between people. It’s more efficient to work with someone when it’s not necessary to continually question the validity of whatever they are saying.
10. You shall not covet.
Capitalism causes us to easily fall into the trap of always wanting more. Always comparing ourselves to someone else or what they have. Imagine how freeing your life would be if you didn’t do that! They say comparison is the thief of joy so maybe that’s what God is telling us? Maybe God wants us to be happy and he’s giving us guidance on how to do that. Why would God care if we want something? Why is he telling us not to be jealous of someone else? They say the happiest man is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.
Why is this good for us? How much happier would we be if we didn’t live in a constant state of jealousy? Being content with what we have instead of always comparing ourselves to others and wanting something more. Sounds like God is again giving us some good advice.
I love the analogy of comparing the Commandments to traffic laws. Even though on the surface they appear to be restrictive, it’s easy to see that their true intention is only for our own benefit. Of course we will make mistakes and have accidents, but if everyone makes their best attempt to follow them, we can all drive through life a bit more safely and accomplish so much more together.