“Obedience of the law is demanded, not asked as a favor,” Theodore Roosevelt

When we observe all that’s going on in this world, and especially the obscene state of affairs in our own country, it’s easy to say God’s commandments are outdated or not useful anymore.  The law of our land requires penalties for bad behavior, disobedience, theft of other’s property, murder, slander, but somehow those laws have been corrupted by the devil as much as the original Ten Commandments.

Today most folks don’t obey the speed limit – they don’t respect their marriage vows – law enforcers are deemed the enemy and slander is a common day happening, even among the youngest of us.  We think nothing of another’s reputation being ruined for life, even when accusations may not be true.

God demands perfection from us.  He gave us His commandments as a list of shall nots and shalls for our benefit, and as a means  for good relationships with others.  The fact that God personally delivered them should be enough for us to try our best to live up to them.  The truth is, we’re sinful.  Our nature is to disobey.  That lives inside us from the day we come into the world.  Original sin will remain with us until we die.  The penalty for disobedience to God’s law is death.

The Ten Commandments are based on our relationship with God and our fellow man.  Some say they’re outdated. Most of us don’t possess a man servant or maid servant much less cattle? However, these laws are timeless.

The first two, demand we put God first and not use His name to dishonor Him.  The rest of them demand that we care for others by not stealing — honoring parents and those in authority – keeping God’s day of rest as a day to praise Him – Revering all life (including those yet unborn as well as the elderly and everything in between)  treating marriage as a holy estate instituted by God not bearing false witness (which would include giving false testimony, spreading gossip, or bullying.)

The last two commandments have to do with desire for things that don’t belong to us. They are broken down into categories of property and people. God’s laws can easily be applied to today and should be. The consequences for not following them, is a death sentence. Pretty stiff result, eh? To me, that means we better pay attention and follow those laws or we face a future of hopelessness.

Yet there is hope.  God has provided a way out for us.  He willingly gave us a Savior, who fulfilled every one of these laws by taking our place and giving us a reprieve.  We certainly don’t deserve this kind of treatment for our disobedience, but God loves us so much, that He wants us to live with Him in His kingdom. If we simply believe, the sentence will be lifted, and we will enjoy eternal life without sin. That doesn’t give us the freedom to continue disobeying. Obedience to God’s Law is a daily necessity.

Maybe its time to look at these “antiquated” laws again and teach them to our children and reteach them to ourselves.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!