Beautiful Commandments

“It’s not hard to be perfect!”

That was the discovery my excited theology major roommate told me. “After all,” he continued, “how hard is it not to kill and not to commit adultery and not to steal? And when is the last time you bowed down to idols?” Obviously, my friend’s view of the law was extremely shallow and behavioral. He forgot to read the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time…But I say unto you.” He failed to look a little deeper at their spiritual application to the heart. The Beatitudes and the ten commandments teach the same truths and uphold the same requirements.

For example, for spiritually mature beings, like angels, God does not need to phrase His commands in the negative. Especially in heaven or Eden, where everything is good and holy, positive expressions make more sense and is all that is needed. “The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers.” (1 Timothy 1:9) The negatively phrased law, given in fire and thunder and shouting from Mt. Sinai, was needed by idolatrous, immature Israelites. It was not needed by angels and Adam.

The angels, who could not marry, were not told, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” They were told something based on the same principle about protecting friendships, but the command was not worded this way. God chose this wording of the commandment as the most effective way to get the point across to erring, carnal, idolatrous mortals.

Also, the arrangement or order was probably changed. Maybe in heaven the ten commandments are arranged in a circle instead of two columns. Perhaps the order within the columns is reversed. We don’t know exactly until we get there, but something is different about the ten commandments without changing their immutable meaning.

The ten commandments engraved on stone or thundered from Sinai is not God’s ideal of communicating law. Mount Sinai was an emergency measure. It was a shout to the kids to keep them plunging over the edge or playing in the street. It was an attempt to arrest the attention of people on the verge of criminal behavior before they actually committed a crime and locked themselves into the consequences. God sings softly in beautiful language to angels, but must shout to hardened sinners because are spiritual ears are plugged.

To the angels, the law was not a guardrail to be crashed into or to bounce off of. It was something they always did naturally without anyone telling them they must. God’s eternal, unbreakable pattern was as sensible and pleasant as the banks of a river that keep the water between them.

With that brief background let’s now look at the ten commandments in a different order and see how they convey the same truth as the Beatitudes.

First, picture a mountain in your mind. It has a broad base and rises to a peak. The bottom is easy to get to by a large number of people, while only a small number of climbers make it to the summit. This is like popular, private coveting compared to rare, visible murder. As we figuratively climb the sides of Mount Sinai, we start with common secret sins and ascend to more public sins. So we will look at the human commandments in reverse order. Then we will look at the table with God’s commandments in normal order.

10) Thou shalt not covet. The poor in spirit start coveting spiritual things.

In the experience of the believer-to-be, the conversion process starts with an internal shift of priority. For the first time, it occurs to the sinner that the materialistic, egotistical, fatalistic way of viewing things is wrong. There is a heaven to win and a hell to shun. Permanent, eternal destruction is the result of selfishness. Love has a greater power than force. Living for the here and now is really just a steady death. Instead of “needing” this thing or that thing or this carnal experience or that lustful pleasure, the poor in spirit finally are convinced that the soul is more important and the key to a better, eternal life. Of course, angels were convinced of this priority from their beginning.

9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Those who mourn desire Truth.

Sin has thrown a vail over the world making us see things darkly and only in shadows. Those who mourn want to see the truth about life, themselves, and others. They want to stop living in a fantasy world. They no longer want to inflate others’ egos nor tear them down with false rumors. They no longer feel there is any comfort in lies. Whatever is the Hope of this life and the life to come, they want to know it, live it, and share it. The tears of the mournful wash away the deceitfulness of sin and though the raw truth is painful, they see it is the only way to comfort for them and everyone else.

8) Thou shalt not steal. The meek renounce ownership.

Stealing is forced redistribution of ownership of material, intellectual, or spiritual goods. When one decides that he/she is the more rightful owner of an object or advantage, then theft has occurred. The meek renounce ownership all together, not just of other’s stuff, but of their own, also. They view themselves as mere stewards and caretakers of the body, soul, and opportunities God has put in their trust. Like the angels, they have no border line of ownership or rulership between “me” and God. What is His is mine, and what is mine is His.

7) Thou shalt not commit adultery. The hungry strengthen relationships.

Having renounced ownership, a person is now freed from the need to protect their stuff. This allows them to focus on others and to learn how to build a personal, unique relationship with each one. Instead of being defensive of their position, they are hungry, thirsty, eager to exercise this new freedom that enables them to enjoy the peaceful trust of true friendship. What was an impossible paradox to them before, is now a living experience as their selfless attitude brings them closer to God and people. Instead of protecting themselves and walling themselves off, they now protect their friends and so they are filled with friendship. Betrayal, adultery, disloyalty are impossible because they are growing personal relationships, not tearing them down.

6) Thou shalt not kill. The merciful share life.

True friends and family give and take, adjust and adapt, encourage and support. The blessings received from God are freely and immediately shared. Score does not need to be kept, because one feels they cannot outgive their circle of friends. More is always flowing in than is flowing out, which prompts greater sharing, which strengthens life’s great circle of love. In every little and big way, life is nourished and increased. Death is impossible. God does not so much make a command or a promise to the merciful as He merely describes the abundant experience.

1) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. The pure assimilate God’s presence.

With this commandment we move to God’s side of Mount Sinai and again begin with small common sins and end with more open and less common sins.

Purity cannot be achieved in and of itself. That would be sterility. That would be making a god out of a goal or condition. Those who have no other god before them always seek God first. Therefore, purity is not their primary goal, but their path and experience. Every view of God, no matter how brief or ignorant, purifies the soul to a corresponding extent. It cannot be avoided. The pure in heart are purified because they see God in, through, and above everything else. They have no obstacles, no gods, in between them and God.

2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. The peacemaker dispels myths about God.

Humans were shaped and created by God. Man cannot shape nor create God. Idols, physical or intellectual, are attempts to shape God and thereby shape humanity, because we are shaped by our worship. Peacemakers are neither mediators nor myth makers. They point directly to God and encourage direct worship of the Creator. Idols are physical myths and myths are intellectual idols. All idols and myths limit, distort, and twist our understanding and worship of God. Therefore, they destroy the image and peace of God.

3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. The persecuted find protection in God’s name.

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) The third commandment is a promise of protection to the persecuted. No soul can take hold of God’s name in vain. Blessing is guaranteed even in the midst of trouble.

4, 5) In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother. Parental respect is salt and Sabbath with God is light.

With these two commandments we reach the top of Sinai. Both are phrased positively and both point us reverently upward to authority and wisdom. We honor and remember the one and only Creator, and we respect our procreators. Ordinary earthly salt represents our human parents, while bright ethereal light reminds us of God’s glory. These two commandments encapsulate the core of law—love to God and people.

It is hard to get lost climbing a mountain because it narrows as you climb. Going down it is possible to end up on the other side of the mountain from where you started, but to reach the peak all you need to do is take one step upward at a time. Even if your eyes are closed, you cannot fail of finding the top. Similarly, if humanity had always held these two positive commandments as inviolable, they would naturally have kept all the rest. It is hard to worship God on Sabbath, then bow down to a dumb idol. It is hard to honor your parents, then plan a murder. The mindsets do not run in the same direction. Obedience to these two commandments is the salt and light of the world, capable of uplifting society and reforming the world.