A Deeper Look at the Ten Commandments
I have a favorite anecdote about Mark Twain…
A nineteenth century industrial baron once said to Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb to the top of Mt. Sinai and read the ten commandments aloud.” Mark Twain responded, “Why don’t you stay home and keep them?”
And then, there’s the story of a student who had a complaint about a particular teacher. She had just finished a midterm exam and said, “Her tests are impossible! I have to study so much harder for her tests just to keep up my grades.”
The student’s advisor asked, “But do you learn more from all that studying for her tests, or from the teachers who are not so difficult?” “Well, yes, I do seem to understand her course better,” the student replied.
So the advisor asked her if she knew how to sharpen a knife. “Yes,” she said, “my dad taught me how to sharpen a knife when we were on a family camping trip.” The advisor asked, “Did you use a stone or a towel?” “What?” she questioned. “You can’t sharpen a knife on a towel!”
“Exactly!” the advisor answered. “You can’t sharpen a knife on a towel. A knife can only be sharpened on a hard surface so that it will be sharp enough to fulfill its purpose and cut what needs cutting. Students, and children, too, cannot be sharpened on soft surfaces. They are sharpened on the hard surfaces of teachers and parents, so that they will be sharp enough to ‘cut it’ in life and fulfill their life purpose.”
And so we have the presentation of the famous Ten Commandments in our first reading today. I have heard it said that, in our time, these commandments have been watered down so much that they should be called the Ten Suggestions. So, let’s take a look…
First of all, let’s put commandments into a larger context. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of the law was, he didn’t point to any of the ten, but rather, taught that the greatest has to do with love: love of God above all else, and love of neighbor as oneself.
And then, we should note the context within which the commandments were presented. At the time of Moses, God was entering into a special relationship with the people—a relationship called a “covenant.” And it is all about relationship, about making it work through love of God and neighbor.
So, if you want to safeguard and protect your relationship with God, you have the first three commandments: (1) no other gods; (2) respect God’s name; and (3) keep one day a week, the Lord’s Day, focused on God and striving to be holy.
The other seven commandments are meant to make life in society possible, creating the proper conditions for our relationships to blossom (love of neighbor as oneself): honor parents and elders (4); do not kill (5); do not commit adultery (6); do not steal (7); do not bear false witness or lie (8); don’t desire your neighbor’s spouse (9); don’t desire things that are not yours (10).
And then, there’s one more section of the Bible to consider, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel. There Jesus takes up the ancient commandments and sharpens them by getting to their inner workings, their spirit.
For example…
- You have heard the commandment imposed on your forefathers, “You shall not commit murder; every murderer shall be liable to judgment.” What I say to you is: everyone who grows angry with his brother [or sister] shall be liable to judgment…
- You have heard the commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” What I say to you is: anyone who looks lustfully [at another person] has already committed adultery with ones thoughts.
- You have heard the commandment, “You shall love your countryman but hate your enemy.” My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors…
(cf. Matthew 5:21-48)
So you see, Jesus is sharpening the commandments, and he’s not using a towel to do the sharpening. He wants us to aim higher, not to settle for the minimum, but to grow in love, loving those we find it difficult to love, loving those we don’t want to love, loving those we have refused to love.
But more than this, during the Lenten season, we are asked to look inward at the attitudes and dispositions behind our actions, things like anger, lust, impatience, lack of compassion, pride, or the inability to forgive. That’s how we can sharpen our focus, going to the heart of the commandments, and getting to the roots of who we really are—and what we can still be. We don’t have to do it all at once, but pick one that truly matters. Pray about it. If there’s one attitude that sabotages your relationships, either with God or with others, would you be willing to work at it?