22 February | Youth
«And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?» Deuteronomy 10:12, 13
The first act of disobedience took place in Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Since then, human beings have been led to think that God's orders are arbitrary. For those who believe in the serpent's suggestion, the commandments are nothing more than a list of prohibitions from a killjoy, tyrannical and bossy God.
It is true that the Ten Commandments are not ten suggestions. If they were, there would be a choice to obey or not. When Moses went up to the Sinai, he received two tablets written by the finger of God, with ten orders. There has never been a more important document than this. God himself engraved the revelation of His will on a piece of rock. Can you understand this? God was not suggesting that we should obey Him. He was ordering.
The Almighty gave the people His Word so that they could know what His will was and obey Him. Just read the account of when Moses went down Sinai with the tablets of the law and saw the people's rebellion. Furious, he threw the tablets to the ground, breaking them, to realize that, without divine laws, there is an imbalance in life. Therefore, God ordered Moses to go up mount Sinai again and take two stone tablets so that His law could be redone. Someone said that if Moses took a thousand new tablets to God, they would come with the same Ten Commandments. The greatest danger we face today is thinking that God's commandments are optional.
The Decalogue consists of God's orders to organize life on Earth. When we obey His commandments, we receive the gift of a balanced and happy life. Through obedience, we learn how to relate to God and to each other.
Keep this in mind: In the Ten Commandments, God is not suggesting that you should obey Him. He does not come to us and say, “Will you please obey Me?” No. He commands it. And He commands it for your good.