The "Ten Commandments" would be a very interesting topic to talk about.
Why? Because this is very controversial.
Source: Ten Commandments Meta Opt
Through this write-up, I'm sure a lot of eyebrows will raise. But anyway, the truth will always prevail and I'd like to take this opportunity to not only participate in the Flaminghelper's Weekly Challenge, but shed some light on this matter as well.
Greatest Commandment in the Law
Let me start with the following verses from the Book of Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
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If we take a good look at the verses above, we can sum it up into 3 parts: Duty to God, to Self, and to Others.
Interestingly, I have always been very familiar and fond of it during my Boy Scout days. The Scout sign, if you are familiar with it, have 3 fingers pointing upward which is a representation of this. The closest finger closest to you, signifies our duty to our self. The middle finger, the tallest signifies are duty to God. And the last one, our duty to others.
For most Christians, following the Ten Commandments was the easy part. Because these are usually the Big Things that we normally try to live and avoid in our lives. The real challenge here is how to apply every command of God down to the little things we do. How can we ensure that our thoughts are pure? How to live a Godly lives each day in our lives? Personally, it is really a struggle. But as a follower of Christ, it is something that I am actively working on, consciously and intentionally. It takes a conscious effort to watch out every little thing that we do, because if we add up the little things, it will become the Big Things.
The Ten Commandments
Now, let's go back to the Ten Commandments. The same concept applies, we can break down the ten commandments which we can read in Exodus 20 into three areas: Duty to God (1-4, v1-8), Duty to Self (5-8, v12-15), Duty to Others (9-10, v16-17). Our duty to God, especially the first 3 commandments were usually the part where most people fail to obey in action and in deeds.
Source: Catholic Resources Website
Growing up
Growing up as a Catholic, I have been quite very familiar with the Ten Commandments. In fact, we used to memorize the commandments above during our elementary days, which is a requirement for us so that we can have our Communion. Most Catholic books and writings by the Catholic Church have the same list above. In fact, there are even churches who have displayed the same list on their walls.
At first glance, you will see nothing wrong with it. But if you are familiar with the Bible, this is quite very scary.This is the main reason why I said earlier, that this is really a controversial topic, and something that most people will not try to dive into. Take a look at the following Ten Commandments from other Bible translations.
Source: Christan Rep
See the difference?
On the first image above, the 2nd commandment found on Exodus 20:4-6 was deliberately removed.
And it reads:
Source: Created via QuotesCover
In attempt to hide this, the last commandment was separated into two parts.
Source: Created via QuotesCover
There you have the 10 Commandments, even if the second command was removed. Ain't that something? Being a Catholic, this was one of the turning points (yes, there were quite a lot of them) in my life where I felt the need to really stand up for my faith and look at what is really being said on the Bible. And the search has lead me to the true and real Christianity.
Now let's all be reminded that God says on Deuteronomy 12:32-13:18,
“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him."
There are no other words needed to express this, the verses has been very clear of this that we should KEEP and OBEY God's Commandments. And take note, ignorance is not an excuse.
Out of all the Commandments, the second one, which talks about "Idolatry" is one of the things that most people find hard to obey, and is a rampant practice in a lot of religious groups today. Sadly, with one being the most rampant and widely known in the entire world and even claims to be "True Church". All throughout the Bible, from the Genesis up to Revelations, we have seen quite a lot of warnings against it, but it remains and continues to be a practice done by a lot of people professing to be Christians. So let's dig a bit deeper into this so-called idolatry.
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The idols we have nowadays, fits perfectly to the description that we can find on Psalms 135. They are fashioned from silver and gold and the work of human hands. But of course people will try to defend this practice by saying, "We are not worshiping the object itself, but the person being represented by it". Well this is another interesting topic worth looking into, but I won't get into this here as I think I have already offended quite a lot of people already.
Let me just end this with a verse from Paul which speaks a lot of volume.
Source: Created via QuotesCover
Thanks for reading.
Looking forward to your comments/thoughts/violent reactions regarding this matter. :D
Have a blessed day!
Cheers,
Kaizen