The Downfall of the Ten Commandments

A great somebody guides me thru life with hope and admiration, for I am a nobody in a network of somebody’s shadow.

I lean on him for strength and reassurance.

He is understanding and forgiving.

He lights my way as I stagger along life’s path.

Without him I am lost.

Alone, even though I am surrounded by individuals.

He is a majestic king, ruler of all.

Who is he?

He is my Lord and Savior.

His name is Jesus.

As I write this, I reflect upon the lack of value people have on our ten commandments. Words our forefathers lived by with an iron fist. To live under God’s rule and follow his laws. Many will argue that to live by the ten commandments is a breach of their rights of religion. What about morals? What about teaching our children the value of guidance and discipline?

Many will argue and defend themselves and the beliefs they have about the ten commandments. But again, I ask, what are we teaching our children? Are we teaching them that the things that use to be unacceptable are now acceptable?

I am going to go out on a limb here and sound preachy but this is something that I see is lacking in every day life around me.

The first commandment : I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

If a person is not a Christian, this first commandment has no meaning to them. If there is no belief that God created the world, then there is no reason to accept God as their Lord.

　

The second commandment : Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

It is apparent that God is serious about placing him first in the Christian life and not letting anything else come before him. I can hear the critics already, but hear me out. This is the way I was raised. I don’t agree with all Christians on how to worship God, but I couldn’t help but wonder what would be considered “other gods”. The list is unbelievably long. I once visited a church where you were suppose to bow down to the cross that was behind the pulpit.(which made me think of Catholics at the time and the Virgin Mary.) This made me uncomfortable because in my mind this act of “bowing down” made me feel as if I was worshiping something other than God. This is something that I see as Satan working in the background. What better way to create chaos by way of creating doubt. Here is one of many reasons to have an uproar of religion and the ten commandments. Then I think of Elijah and the test of Baal’s prophets. (1 Kings 18:21-39) People from now until the end of time will question and debate the existence of God and the effect it has upon their lives. All I can say is seek out the truth for yourself. Don’t be deceived and wander around like sheep. Religion and politics are two topics that few want to interact with, but are surrounded by.

The third commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

I think the third commandment is becoming the most violated commandment. I have yet to watch a show or movie that doesn’t use the name of Jesus as a cuss word. I hear it every day in restaurants and out on the streets as a way for people to express themselves. For me it is like listening to a teenage who’s vocabulary goes no further than four letter cuss words to describe their day. When adults fling out these words as if they are nothing, the children see no reason to not do the same.

The forth commandment: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

First of all, this verse causes a debate on what day is the Sabbath day, Saturday or Sunday. With that set aside for another discussion, look at it in a different light. Football fans are going to be screeching over this one, but it occurred to me the other day how easy it is to get into a Sunday routine. Go to church, eat lunch, and cop a squat on the couch to watch the game. Now, I am not labeling in any way. This was just something I observed the other day. The claim will be made that when God created the world, (from the Christian point of view,)he rested on the Sabbath day. So the question would present itself, is watching the weekend game keeping the Sabbath holy? I will let the readers answer that one for themselves.

The fifth commandment: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Honor is something that is sorely lacking in this day and age. A child should respect the wishes of a parent. It teaches that a person’s integrity and reputation should have meaning. No one can trust someone who doesn’t stay true to his/her word, whom is rebellious and has no respect for their peers. To honor your father and mother shows that you value what they have to say. God asks his children to listen to him. To follow his way so they are not lost.

The sixth commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

Killing is all around. It is front page news, in the shows we watch, and games we play. A soldier is called to war and asked to fight. TV programs are dedicated to analyzing and catching a killer. A child (or even grown-up) gets excitement from slaughtering the bad guys in a game. The shock value of a death holds more of a fascination than terror and trepidation. It is now becoming common to film a death of someone than to tend to their needs first. What happened to concern and compassion? I recently came across a post from a fellow hubber named Loves to Read for more information about her hub, there is a link at the bottom of my page. It is against God's will to kill, even the killing of innocent children.

The seventh commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Here is the fifty dollar question…what is adultery? The first thought would be someone who is unfaithful to their spouse. But, it goes beyond that, lustful thoughts, fornication, non-marital sex and the list goes on.

How many times in the process of watching a program has a commercial come on promoting sex or an intimate relationship? How many movies or clips have a sex scene of some sort? More importantly, is the concept or impression of sex being integrated into children cartoons for the adult’s pleasure? What happened to morals? With the acceptance and advertising of sex, children are becoming more sexually active at a younger age. I met a thirteen year old girl in my high school who was pregnant. I was amazed to learn that she had been having sex since she was ten. With the internet and social groups out there the ideals of sex are endless. We tell our children, “Don’t talk to strangers.” What are these young impressionable minds doing on social networks? Meeting people. Getting to know others from Facebook, Twitter, or some dating site. Flirting is deemed as a harmless. If children are not taught from an early age the sacredness of waiting for sex till marriage, how do we as parents expect them to take marriage seriously? Our bodies are a sacred temple to be cherished as a rare treasure.

The eighth commandment: Thou shalt not steal.

This commandment should be an easy one to follow, but if one sees a desire clearly out of reach it is only logical in the mind of the impressionable one to “steal” it. There are tons of scams out on the net to weasel money out of the pockets of people. Outrageous taxes and lining officials pockets under the smokescreen of better a business or country. For the Christian, not tithing to God. What is the parent teaching the child when they scam someone out of their profits of hard work? There has become an epidemic of scammers preying on people. They are weaseling people out of their hard earned money by playing on their ignorance. There is an outcry of the injustice done, but it hasn’t stopped the deception.

The ninth commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What is a little white lie? What is portraying yourself one way while doing another? Cyber bulling is hitting the network at an alarming rate. It is easier to type out a hate note than to get the to confront the person in question. It has now become a game to some children, a means of cheep entertainment to impress their fellow classmates. Look at the amount of gossip flooding the society. It doesn’t matter how truthful it is as long as a scandal is involved. Children are absorbing this now acceptable behavior like a sponge. False religions fall under this category. How is a person suppose to know if they are being duped by a false religion? God said to test the spirits because many false prophets are in the world. Satan is a deceiver, the greatest liar around. Search for the truth for yourself, and watch for the gossip addiction, it surrounds us.

The tenth commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet the neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.

It use to be called “Keeping up with the Jones.” Now it is called reality TV. Number one object…MONEY…who has it and how much. I personally would deem number two as vanity of the perfect body. It is advertised everywhere. I bet a person watching TV right now could pick out one of seven deadly sins advertised as acceptable behavior. Who is willing to take the time to teach the difference?

In conclusion to my views on the violation of the ten commandments, I would like to add that there is no value on honor or integrity. There is a lack of brotherly love. It is becoming all about greed and power. If a child is reared to believe that alcohol and violence is acceptable, this is a pattern or trait that will be passed on for future generations. If a child is shown that greed and power are acceptable instead of compassion and commitment are we to blame them for the problems of our future? Common sense has been filtered out of the lives of the youth. If children are being taught that it is ok to violate the ten commandments from a religious or non-religious perspective then the future is in an imminent downfall.