Society and the Ten Commandments

I love reading the word of the Lord, which is the bible. This year is the fifth time I have read from Genesis to Revelation. I reflected a lot on why the Ten Commandments were given as such and precisely why they were given in that order.

The Ten Commandments are:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make idols.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet.

See Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5.

I asked myself what happens when we follow the commandments and what might happen if we do not, i.e., the outcome of not following the commandments will primarily impact our relationship with God and society. This reflection was the key to understanding the effects of the commandments or laws in our community.

If we do not follow the commandments, we might reduce the population in our society, for example, committing murder. Or we will be completely alone as we will commit adultery. Reduce trust between people. We will bear false witness in court, negatively impacting our society.

We see that the law, especially from the fifth one to the tenth, tells us about our relationship with our neighbors and ourselves.

To begin understanding the order, children grow up in a household with two parents, a father and a mother. We see that the fifth one essentially tells one to honor one’s parents. This begins at home. The ones who gave you life and structure are essentially your parents.

And when we look at the first one to the third one, it speaks about the relationship between us and God. God is the lawgiver, and these laws came from Him. What are the consequences or impact of having other gods idols or taking the name of God in vain?

The premise is that God is the source of life. If we disobey any of the first three commandments, everything else falls. We will have a bad relationship with God, so we will not integrate coherently with His creations. Since God is the Creator of all things, He is connected to everything. Disobeying God has catastrophic consequences that we will break everything God has created.

I also saw a connection within our society where life sentences are connected to crimes with severe consequences in our community. Take Sweden, for example. The maximum number of years someone can spend in prison is 18 years, apart from a life sentence. Crimes that can lead to many years in jail are murdering people, genocide, etc.. This is fair as the consequence or outcome of killing people hurts society. You are essentially reducing the population and the potential of the community to thrive, as people are the building blocks of society.

I am returning to the Ten Commandments: Which have the most significant consequences if disobeyed?

I reason that the first three. Hence, the premise is that if the first three commandments are disobeyed, the rest will easily be broken.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

Thank you for reading.