To be perfectly honest, I don’t spend much time with the Big Ten (i.e. commandments) these days. I think long ago I just kind of mentally filed them under “basic,” together with first grade math and paint-by-number books. I mean, how hard is it really to not commit murder? I mastered that one some time ago. I also have a spotless record on not lying at the court I’ve never been to and not cheating on the spouse I’ve never had. Well sure, I stink at the sabbath thing, but everybody knows that one doesn’t really count.
Recently while reading the ten commandments on a casual pass through Exodus, I started wondering what Jesus made of them. It suddenly occurred to me that Jesus addresses pretty much all the Big Ten in one way or another. But the thing about Jesus is that he has this strange talent for making calculus as simple as addition and addition as complex as calculus. In his hands, all these seemingly “basic” commands unfold to reveal a hidden universe of meaning.
What do the Big Ten sound like coming from the mouth of Jesus? Something a bit like this:
- Making loving God the most important thing in your life. And forget about all the chocolates and flowers–God’s love language is love for your neighbor.
- God’s the only one who is going to save you and the rest of the world. So for heaven’s sake (really), stop looking for money or politicians to do it.
- If you’re doing to dare to engage in God-talk, make sure that the rest of what’s coming out of your mouth, not to mention your life, doesn’t pollute the stream.
- Rest regularly. Seriously, get over yourself. God can run the world without your help for a while.
- Broaden your definition of family. There are people all around you who need the extra grace and generosity of kin.
- Don’t steal life from people, with weapons or words. This contradicts the very nature of your calling as a vessel of God’s healing.
- Resolve that everyone around you will come out higher because you’ll be lifting from beneath. Seek the good of others first. Go ahead and start with those you live with.
- Don’t take what isn’t yours or hold onto more than your share. Experience the radical freedom of living with your hands wide open.
- Don’t lie about each other. Don’t lie to each other. Don’t lie to yourself. Are you sensing a pattern here? Everything worth having is built on a foundation of truth.
- Don’t waste your life making wish lists or gazing through others’ windows. Ask a generous God for what you need. Then get on with embracing the gifts that are yours.
Viewed in the light of Jesus and his teachings, it turns out to be a quite remarkable list. What we actually have here are not a few boxes that are easy to check off but a roadmap for a life that is extraordinary and strange. The so-called “basics” are a doorway through which we are summoned to a wholly reimagined way of being in the world. Somewhere between ten simple lines, God’s kingdom begins to creep in.
Who would ever have guessed it? Well, it appears that Jesus did.
