A friend mentioned to me that other day that if everyone lived by the basics of the Ten Commandments, then we would live in paradise and it got me thinking… Would it really?
The 10 Commandments are one of the cornerstones in Christianity having been given to Moses by God to share with all the Israelites after they left captivity in Egypt. Carved in stone, they were confined to physical oblivion when Moses smashed them, however a slab, probably crafted between AD 300 and 800, was uncovered in 1913 during excavations to build a railroad station near Yavne, Israel and was inscribed with nine of the 10 divine rules enumerated in the Book of Exodus. Auctioned off in 2016 for US$850,000 it now resides with an unknown benefactor.
So, if we were all to follow them, would society exist in total harmony? A state of complete happiness. For those with no immersion into Christianity, some of the 10 commandments could well be interpreted as common sense, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not commit adultery, honour your father and mother amongst them. If we were to follow them, we would indeed live in more harmonious existence and perhaps a lot of society’s ills would be diminished.
Others include, Remember the sabbath. (Observed by most Christians as Sunday although historically it comes from the Hebrew shavat, “to rest” and was observed on Saturday.) You shall not covet; you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour…. Hummmm, I can think of some prime examples here where if we were to adopt these notions, life would indeed be more harmonious for families torn apart by the need to work every day to provide, or damaged irrevocably by slander spread by those who they thought were there friends.
The list goes on to include You shall not make idols, You shall not take the Lords name in vain, which perhaps are somewhat unattainable in our current society that seems to normalize ‘worship’ of many a sports or pop star and even politicians.
As we move into April and what is the most important event in the Christian calendar, Easter, celebrating the death and resurrection of God’s son Jesus, signifying victory over sin and death. It is perhaps worth giving more thought to the rules that have underpinned a faith in something that has lasted over 2,000 years and that if each of us followed them, we would indeed make not only our own lives but those of others around us prosperous, harmonies and downright happier.