I FOUND A HACK FOR THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

And it is Helping Me Reprioritize Things

Once upon a time, people wanted to live under a set of laws, so God spoke to Moses and thus, the Ten Commandments. Perhaps those people figured that if they had a list of things to do and not to do, they would obey God (not sin and miss the mark), and all would be well for them. I get it. I am a visual person. I construct vision boards that direct my desired lifestyle. I also live in a land of law and order, where many of our laws are extensions of the Ten Commandments. And, even the companies I have worked for have instituted written rules, called employee manuals. Written laws, rules, and guidelines are everywhere.  

In fact, I advise people to create their own commands for their Y.O.U., Inc. After creating a vision board, I encourage others to write out affirmations that they will say daily. For example: “I will post something about my business every day on social media.” Over time, many of these, “I wills” can feel like laws, in their operative form to guide us through our day, our month, and our year. But if we are not careful, all the enthusiasm we had at the beginning of the year when the “laws” were established, begin to feel like a burden by the summer, especially if we have missed the mark. I.e., “I averaged one post about my business per month on social media.”

While affirmations and goals are important, I have come to realize that many of the things we write down during our vision planning are not entirely in our control. Life happens! And what was meant for yesterday, is not always the priority for today. 

Now, that is not an excuse to kick the dog and throw out the cat. But it does mean that we are not under the law when it comes to our work. Instead, we should always be operating more in the Spirit and less in the flesh. (That’s another learned lesson for another day). 

So, if you are feeling stressed about where you are with your goals and where you had hoped to be so far this year, then I hope what I am about to share will help you.

Simply stated, our biggest and best priority is to do what God tells us to do today.

What’s that?

Well, I am glad you asked. 

What matters most to God and what should matter most to us is steeped in the “Greatest Commandment” found in Matthew 23:34-40. The Scripture reads, 

“Thou shalt love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these two commandments, the whole law hangs and the prophets.” 

Basically, if you love as God commands, you will consequently fulfill the Ten Commandments and not practice Idolatry, Blasphemy, Murder, Adultery, Stealing, or Lying, but practice Holiness and Honor.

A Matter of Choice

I used to think this greatest commandment was something hard to follow,  but now, I see that love is a simple matter of choice. As “Christians” (people committed to the holiness Jesus demonstrated), we choose right over wrong every day because we choose to follow in His way and obey Him. He asks us to be holy even as he is holy. (1 Peter 1:16).

Christianity is not merely going to church, or placing a big bible on the coffee table, or hanging a picture of Jesus on the wall. Those outward things are nice to show, but God looks at the heart. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, “if being a Christian was punishable, would I be found guilty?” I hope so, but only you know. 

If you know that you are, then you know through Scripture that our greatest and best decision is to love God, the way He wants us to love Him. This is also our purpose. And by fulfilling that one command, we cover all the others at the same time. It is like a magnificent BOGO. (You buy one and get the other for free). 

Put it into Practice

Furthermore, when the Scripture says “to love my neighbor as myself,” I know it is possible for me to love you as I love me. Because it is a choice. If I love me (and I do), then you are going to get treated really well by me, because I want you to feel as good about your life as I do about mine. 

The Greek word for love, Agapēseis, means “to love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.”

Strong’s Concordance

When you think about love in the proper context, it is an impossible feat if you are breaking the commandments. Right? If you love someone, you won’t kill them, you won’t steal from them, you will not wish harm on them, and the list goes on. 

1 John 4:20-21 says he who loves God loves his brother also. We cannot say that we love God and not love our Black, White, and Asian, brothers, and sisters. And If I love them, then I won’t kill them, or lie on them. Again, it is a choice. 

When I see them, I see me because I see humanity. When I consider another person’s life, I will not assume one is greater than the others. I will not choose to love my father more than my mother, or any mother more than their child. I am not going to love Blacks more than Whites, or Men more than Women, or vice versa.

Love, God’s way is never complicated. It is a choice. We are called to choose life and to choose life for those who cannot choose life for themselves. (Proverbs 31:8)

So, I repeat, if we are God’s children, and have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, then we can and should live holy. We can choose to love. Because anything else is less than the best life we could be living.

L.O.V.E. is my greatest priority.

There are only two choices:  God’s way or any other way. I have made a choice this day, for life rather than death, for blessings rather than curses. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28.) L.O.V.E. is my greatest priority.

I have read the Scriptures, and know this is true: love is a daily hack for having a blessed life today and for the rest of our days. I hope you will choose it too.

Pray With Me

Heavenly Father, as You give us today our Daily bread, please give us the capacity to love as You have commanded. Help us to love You with our heart, mind, and strength. To give You first place and to keep You there. And then Lord, help us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to bless those who persecute us. Help us with this daily. And since we know this is a spiritual work that comes by obedience, we thank You that Your love is shed abroad, poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who You have given to us.  We know Your perfect love casts out all fear, it is patient and kind, endures long, is never envious, jealous, boastful, or prideful, it is not self-seeking, selfish, rude, resentful, petty, and keeps no account of wrongs suffered, takes no pleasure in evil, is happy with the truth, and never gives up. Your love never fails. Christ, make Your home in our hearts through faith, and help us be rooted and grounded in love. Thank You, Father, we believe we receive it now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture references in the prayer: Philippians 1:9-11, Romans 5:5 and 12:4, Matthew 5:44, 1 John 2:5, 1 John 4:18, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Ephesians 3:17-19, and Romans 8:39. Please meditate on these to increase your knowledge on the subject of love.

With One Love and One Righteous Choice,

Leah

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