In earnest, I have a problem with authority in general. I have mentors and role models, but I am not, and never have been, okay with submitting to somebody else just because some invisible set of rules say that I should. I've always worked on more of a mutual respect-basis.
So back to work. A guy comes in looking for a little something to treat himself with...he's maybe in his mid twenties; skinny and street wise. He's wearing a baggy sweatshirt and a dumpy looking backpack. I like him already. He tells me he doesn't have a ton of money but wants to enjoy a little of it, so I set him up with a couple things. We had a pretty short talk, but he was one of my favorite customers that day. Not much later, I went down to the basement to use an employee restroom and passed a security guard on the way. "Thanks," he says. I'm confused. "I'm really excited to use that stuff. Thanks," he says. And...holy crap. This security guard is that skinny guy I just saw. I didn't recognize him at all. And up until this moment, he's always just been another security guard. Once he was out of his official "authority" garb, he was an awesome guy.
This happens all the time in different ways. Once we see past our prejudices, we learn so much. I hate when people assume things about me...but I do it to other people too. We all do. But it happens the most to God. So often we project our prejudices onto Him without even giving Him a chance. Even this far, this topic could open up into endless hours of debate and thousands of directions for conversation, but I want to focus on one of the most famous passages in the Bible, and why it is so misunderstood. This passage is known widely not just by churchgoers, but by most other people. I refer to the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were given to the Hebrew people immediately after God used Moses to liberate them from slavery in Egypt. I'll summarize them here:
God said that you shall not:
-Have any other gods
-Make any idols
-Misuse God's name
-Forget the Sabbath
-Dishonor your mother and father
-Murder
-Commit adultery
-Steal
-Lie/deceive
-Covet
Ok. So I try (usually unsuccessfully) to not question God too much. I mean, He's God, right? If you disagree with the highest authority of all existence, there's nowhere else to turn. But to be honest, I don't respond well to authority being pushed on me. Especially when it's blatant. And so I can't wrap my head around this scenario...these Hebrews are liberated from slavery, finally free to live their lives, and the first thing God does is lay down a list of dos and don'ts. That just seems so stupid to me.
But what I realized today is that I've been viewing this passage through an anti-authority lens. My personal experiences and how I've been burned in the past are speaking more into the way I read this passage than the actual truth about God is. So if we were to switch it up...something amazing just might happen.
So let's assume that instead of God being a cosmic version of your high school principal, He's actually full of love toward mankind and wants the best for all of us. I know that's not easy to factor in; I have been personally hurt so deeply that I still struggle sometimes to believe that God actually loves me at all. But for the sake of looking at this passage, let's start there and see where it goes. Let's go through each commandment but instead of looking at them as rules to control us, we'll look at them as God's divine wisdom about what is good for the human soul. In other words, if God could give these Hebrews ten things to remember that would give them the best lives and the richest existence possible, these would be it. Let's start with number 1:
-You shall not have any other gods.
This one is important for us, and was very important for them. First of all, God is not just an idea. He is real, and has been weaving His love through our existence since before the dawn of time. I can say from personal experience that God touches lives in very real, undeniable, tangible ways. Our world is a broken one, but God still loves us and works for us in so many ways. Everything hasn't come together in peace yet, but God is bringing us there one step at a time. And it is God Himself who does this. If we submit ourselves to believing in other gods, we will be left out in the cold, because they won't be there when we need somebody. They don't exist. And God wants our calls to be heard...not to fall on the deaf ears of a god that doesn't exist. And so, for our own good, we need to remember Him and spend our time getting to know Him, not bowing down to gods that aren't real.
-You shall not have any idols.
This one's pretty easy. Idols start as something small and fun and don't cause any harm. But soon we're turning to them first when the world comes crashing down. And then we're back to square one. I personally struggled for a long time with turning to music and not God when things got tough. And it was a hard lesson to break away from that. But in the end, God fills me and helps me in ways that playing a guitar never, ever could. God is the only one powerful enough to heal our broken hearts and guide us through confusion, so we ought to turn to Him first and not to other things. He cares about us so much that He made it a rule to live by.
-Don't misuse God's name.
Our world is seriously screwed up. Have you ridden the city bus recently? For me, a ride downtown is all the reminder I need. Reading the Bible, you'll soon discover that what is regarded as a Holy book contains a shocking number of scandals, horribly sad stories, and messed up family situations. The Bible looks a lot like real life...but what makes it unique is that it also provides insight to how God worked in the middle of all these things to liberate people from slavery, restore life to people that had given up on living, and healing to broken people and broken relationships. The big point there, and the big point in this commandment, is to remember that God is set apart from the corruption of this world. He does interact with us and He does care deeply, but He is completely good and has no evil in Him. And in a world that is changing and has history books full of travesties, the only thing that will restore hope to the human soul is to remember that God is set apart, and has enough power to restore us, lift us out of our circumstances, and bring us life. We should respect His name, because for everything He's done and continues to do...He deserves so much respect.
-Remember the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a day off. Once a week. Before they were brought out of their slavery, the Hebrews had no days off. Ever. Their very existences were defined by how much they produced. And God does not support that. God loves you because you are you, not because of what you can do or how much you work or what you accomplish. He just loves you. And it puts your soul in a terrible place to judge yourself on how much you produce. God wants you to enjoy your life. He wants you to take a day every week to just be happy, to remember He loves you, and to do something fun! Take a bath, go on a hike, meditate, see a movie...whatever feeds your soul. As long as you feel free, you've got the point. This is so important that God didn't want to take the chance of anybody missing it.
-Honor your mother and father.
I'll be the first to admit that situations are different family to family. Maybe you get along with your parents great, maybe it's horrible and you work to survive it every day. Whether you're close with your parents or not, it will still make things easier to show them respect. This doesn't mean that you always submit without question. It does mean that you make a conscious effort to treat them well. People will fight. You might have a few major blowouts. But do what you can, and remember that God has more strength than you do, so He's the best place the run when you're at your wit's end. The point is that when families are fighting, life can get pretty miserable...but if you're making an effort to treat your parents well, it will not only make the situation better, but it'll also shape who you are in a great way. And God is concerned not just about your happiness, but in the person you are becoming. This commandment delves into a lot of tough situations...I think it's meant to. Because it's so tough to do, it will be enriching to your soul in the end.
- Don't commit murder.
When I was little, one Christmas my big brother got a lego set and wouldn't let me touch it. I was a creative kid and couldn't understand why he'd hold me back...but we got in a fight about something and I got so infuriated that I took his newly-crafted lego set and threw it on the floor. Pieces went everywhere. I'm not an aggressive person. When those legos hit the floor, I lost it. I felt more horrible than I ever have in my life, and I just started bawling. I felt so guilty and I was so sorry for doing what I did. I was only a kid, but I experienced what it was to lash out at somebody else and have it ricochet back onto my soul. Of course murder is bad. But I don't think God was just looking out for the victims. He was looking out for the murderers. I've never killed anyone...I can't imagine how shattering is it to the human soul to bear the burden of taking somebody else's life away from them. God told us not to murder because both parties are victims...one person has a broken body, and the other a broken soul, that may or may not heal again.
-Don't commit adultery.
The Bible actually says a lot about sex. The entire Song of Solomon is a devastating story of what happens when one man steals another man's wife. Everybody is hurt in the end. The Bible describes two people coming together as becoming "one flesh." When you sleep with somebody, your bodies as well as your souls intertwine. It'd be easier if that weren't the truth, but it is. Sleeping with multiple people doesn't ruin your chances at true love, it doesn't make God hate you, and it doesn't make your dirtier than other people. But it does chip away at your soul, and God knows this. He's told people to find somebody they love and stay true to them...not because He wants to ruin your fun, but because you'll find a deep happiness with one person that you just can't sleeping around. And God loves you, and would rather see you truly happy than temporarily fulfilled and hurt afterward.
-Don't steal.
Stealing isn't all the same. Some people steal a little bit to survive, some do it out of selfishness, and others just like the thrill of doing something dangerous. I'm mostly the latter. I've stolen lots of stuff. I don't steal from other people, but I've done everything from pirating music, to stealing tableware from restaurants, to reusing bus transfers instead of paying the fare. I'm not a clepto, but I haven't sworn it all off either. I'm a work in progress, and I know that God is patient and works with me. I'll probably stop stealing entirely someday. So what do I have to say on the topic? There have been times when I haven't stolen a thing even though I didn't think I'd have enough, and God took care of me anyway...and those were truly amazing moments that I still remember today. Not stealing opens up doors for us to provide for each other, to lean on each other for financial support, and it lets us see God provide for us in amazing ways that we might not have seen otherwise. Like I said, I'm still learning to appreciate this, but there are so many benefits to the soul when we meet each other's needs instead of being driven to stealing.
-Don't lie or deceive other people.
This one's huge. Lying, more often than not, makes situations worse. More importantly, deception is just evil at its core. We lie and deceive sometimes for personal gain, but mostly because of fear. We're afraid of other peoples' reactions, having our shortcomings exposed, embarrassment, being caught off guard...it all turns into a web, and pretty soon we're all trapped. The only way we get by is by telling half-truths, tainting stories to make ourselves look more justified, lying to avoid consequences, and the whole thing is just devastating to our souls. We distance ourselves and end up alone, we end up judging other people over stupid things, and pretty soon we stop believing in things like love, peace, and happiness. God is against that completely! He wants the best for us, and one of the biggest ways to get there is for us to let go of this need to deceive each other. Only then will life be something we're actually glad to be a part of. This is a commandment because it's fundamental to healing our souls and the souls of others.
-Don't covet.
Basically, don't stew in jealousy over other peoples' things/wives/occupations/whatever. Just let it go. I know that it's hard...I've been living in Seattle for a year now, and all my friends are in school. Everybody my age is graduating this year. I haven't started college, and I want to go so badly it's unbelievable. Sometimes it's ridiculously hard to see other peoples' lives going well when yours doesn't seem to be. And from experience, when you sit and stew in this jealousy, it either turns into anger or depression. Because you'll either be mad at everyone else for having things you don't have (and feel like you should), or you'll be depressed because...well, why not you, right? Why is life working out so well for everyone else and not you? Life starts to look hopeless. I've been dealing with this one for a while now, and I can tell you with no doubt and no further explanation that it drags your soul into a very dark, very hopeless place. God wants you instead to focus on what you do have, how He's provided for you, and what's good. He cares deeply about you and doesn't want you sitting alone in your anger or depression.
There you have it. This blog is longer than I thought it would be. I personally have had a few things called to my attention just by writing this...I hope you have too.
May you see that God guides you in love and not in pointless rules...may you find ways to be thankful for all you have...and may your heart be full of the truth that God cares deeply for your soul and loves you in ways you can't even imagine.
In love.
-Jordan
Wow, Jordan, I really enjoyed reading this! I don't have time right now, but you've just provided me with my next meditation. :)
ReplyDeleteThank so much for sharing your wisdom! Keep it up, man! Only good can come from this. :)