Today’s Gospel from Matthew focuses on the Ten Commandments. As I teach in Sunday School, there are indeed ten of them. We don’t just get to pick the top five or top eight that we want to follow easily. It is not like a menu in a restaurant, where you pick what you like, or you just pick the “easy ones”. They are also called commandments, not suggestions, so that holds some weight. Breaking rules also has consequences, even if you don’t “get caught”, or nothing bad happens right away. Lastly, they have been around a very long time, seem to cover most of the bases in society, and even formed the groundwork of the legal systems in many countries. So, logically, we should follow them. After thousands of years, they are still timeless.
Break or Keep
The gospel says that whoever breaks the commandments or teaches others to break them will be the least in Heaven. I’m not a theologian, but I think that breaking or teaching others to break them would not really put you in the “Heaven” category after you die.
Conversely, Jesus states that keeping and teaching them guides you to be the greatest in Heaven, which sounds more like a positive game plan. I don’t aim to be the greatest in Heaven; even being a bystander up there is fine with me.
Live Them
Knowing and following and teaching them is great, as we read in Matthew. However, living them is a good idea, as well. Having a lifestyle that embraces the commandments has many positive effects, not only for your soul, but the souls of those around you. Set a good example.
When We Miss
We aren’t perfect, so when we fail to live up to the standard discussed above (it’s not a matter of if, but when we mess up), we do have a way to get healed. We have Confession available to help us get back on track.
The plan for getting to Heaven is pretty clear, we have a recovery plan for when we don’t hit the mark, so let’s get started on the right path.
Remain Blessed.
