Life Experiment II

Can any of you list all of the 10 Commandments?  Can you remember where to find them in the Bible?  How often do you think about them?  Everyday?  Hour?  Never?

These questions are of course asked to those of my readers who are of the Judeo-Christian persuasion.  Of which I am.  Not only do I lean that direction, I am in fact ordained into the ministry of the United Church of Christ.  And you know what?  I rarely think about the 10 Commandments.  In fact, rarely may be too generous.

Please understand, I do know them.  I am aware of their existence.  If pressed (but not too pressured) I could probably name them all aloud.  I do know they are found in Exodus, but the chapter and verse would escape me.  I would probably turn to my old stand-by, Google, to find out more.

And to be perfectly honest, I am not too embarrassed by this.  It seems I am not the only one who nods understandingly when the 10 Commandments are brought up, but then their minds quickly gloss over or refocus on their to do list.  They can seem quaint and out of touch with today's world.  And maybe they are.  Maybe we don't need them anymore.  But I have a sneaking suspicion they would not have lasted in public discourse this long if they didn't have something to teach us even today. 

But I don't know what that something is.

This will be the topic of my next Life Experiment.

For the next 10 weeks, I will focus my thoughts and energies on one of the 10 Commandments.  I will do my best to make sure the commandment comes up in my thoughts and actions.  I will consider it and reflect on its meaning for me and for Christians today.  I will take it seriously.

Why only one a week?  Partially because it is easier (to be perfectly honest - which I think is a commandment).  But also because I truly want to give them honest thought. 

The nitty gritty details:

• I will be using the 10 Commandments which are laid out in Exodus 20:1-17
• I will go in the order in which they are written in the Bible
• I will let you know which commandment I am working on Mondays and share final thoughts on Fridays (though I will not stop over the weekends - unless it is the Sabbath - another commandment right?)
•  During the middle of the week I will continue with my random musings which you have become familiar with, though I may add any deep flashes of insight that come my way.

This week's Commandment:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me."

My mind is already wondering: What other gods do I have?

Thanks for coming with me on this exploration!  And tomorrow, back to my random musings on equinox.