Pondering What is Important In Life

Pondering What Is Important In Life

This week we have discussed the 10 Commandments and how Jesus was able to refine those down to 2 guiding commandments.  We have discussed the Golden Calf and the Children of Israel. I confess I still don't understand the choices they made. The Children of Israel lived in a time when they didn't have to listen for a still small voice, the Lord would speak aloud to them.  Of course they didn't have the Atonement yet, and they didn't have the benefit of the the written word of the Lord being compiled into the Bible and Book of Mormon yet either. However I have gotten onto a tangent. 

I still find my mind and heart occupied with the "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and the golden calf.  One of my classmates did a topic on how we cannot serve two masters. That's what Aaron was trying to do with the children, please both them and the Lord. He called it a day of the Lord yet the calf was right there, two masters.

We must examine our life and make sure the Lord, Our Heavenly Father is first and foremost. He must be leading our lives - He isn't a follower.

Do You Have a Golden Calf?

Thoughts on the Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-4 

1.And when the people saw that Moses ^adelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us ^bgods, which shall ^cgo before us; for as forthis Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we^dwot not what is become of him.

 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the ^agolden earrings, which arein the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bringthem unto me.

 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a ^amolten calf: and they said, ^bThese be thy^cgods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought ^apeace offerings; and the ^bpeople sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

It appears to me that Aaron thought he was directing them toward the Lord. They did the appropriate sacrifices, he named the day a day of Sacrifice to the Lord. However the words and actions did not match. The Golden Calf was still there.  We need to be careful that we don't have a golden calf in our life. The Old Testament Student Manuel discussion on the 10 Commandments warned of this also in that a worshiped graven image can take many forms. Cars, computers, education, tvs, phones, games ...is there an object in our life that we are putting before the Lord. Beware of the Golden Calf in your life. I know I will in mine.

The 10 Commandments and the 2 Great Commandmentss

The Greatest Commandments

The Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him stone tablets with commandments engraved with the Lords finger. These are the what we now call the 10 Commandments,  They are found in the 20th Chapter of Exodus. When Jesus came to walk the Earth he told us that all of the commandments actually rest on two.  In Matthew 22:37 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." and Matthew 22:39 "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

When we look at the commandments one by one we can see how each commandment relates to these two greatest commandments. 

Thou shalt have not other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is the earth  beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
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 (Exodus 20:7)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and  with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  

      It is important to remember that the great commandments do not invalidate the 10 commandments, they do give you a great way to evaluate your actions. If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind you will not have any other gods before him, you will not take his name in vain, and you will keep the Sabbath day holy because that is what you do for someone you love. You do what is important to them and you treat them with love and respect. 

     If you love your neighbor, and by neighbor we are are talking about any fellow human, being as much as you love yourself you will not kill them, steal from them, lie about them, commit adultery with or against them. If you love your neighbor you will rejoice in their good fortune instead of wishing it belonged to you.

    When you are following both of these commandments you are able to keep the commandment to Honor thy father and mother. It involves both because your parents are to be a stand in for our Heavenly Father here on the earth. They are to teach you what he would if he was here. In that regard you respect your parents as a stand in for Heavenly Father and love them as you love yourself.

There is allot of neglect of the Commandments happening these days and which ones are the most neglected can be a matter of opinion. In my opinion there are 3 of the 10 that if they were not would improve the world.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)

The tenth commandment is part of all the others. If you don't covet you won't have other gods and bow down to them, you won't take the name of God in vain. If you don't covert you have less chance of stealing or killing or lying about another. Imagine a world where people didn't want things that were not theirs. What if people were not consumed by the need to have what others possessed? Leaving your doors unlocked and nothing missing while you are gone, drop your wallet and its returned to you intact. No need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on security systems because no one wants what you have.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)

         Jesus gave us a reminder of this verse in Matthew 6:33 ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God,and his righteousness.’ the Lord does not require our adoration, however when we put something else before Him we wander off the path. By keeping our eyes on Him we are focused on His goals for us and eternity. This is the foundation verse, even more that than not coveting, because if we were all focused on Him as the center of our lives with nothing before Him then it would be much harder to break the other laws..

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)

This is a commandment that is nearly ignored in today's world. Sunday is not a day of rest to be sacred to the Lord anymore. It is a day of sporting events, shopping, work, and a day to pursue hobbies. It is no longer considered for what it is suppose to be, a day to grow closer to your Lord. A day to rest  from worldly work and focus on the sacred. A day of sacrament.

The ten commandments were the base of our legal system yet in many places people sue to keep them from being displayed. They are the foundation of civilized behavior yet many people not only ignore them but cannot tell you what they are. Is it any wonder the fabric of society is ripping apart when we ignore the basic laws?