Life's Biggest Temptation//This

[Reading time: 1 minute, 36 seconds. 321 words.]

When I was younger, I saw the Ten Commandments as a rigid set of rules. As I get older, I'm seeing them in a new light; more nuanced and deeper than I could imagine. I think what the commandments are mostly about is the tendency to look elsewhere for what you need when what you need is right here.

The Ten Commandments is a call for us to devote ourselves to this God, this day, these people, and these tasks.

You may have heard the quote that goes: "Mental health is a commitment to reality at all costs." (M.Scott Peck) What if the Ten Commandments are about this reality of things that are right here?

You may have seen someone who dove off the deep end. The siren's call was to leave all of this. There is something deeply blessed and sacred about this.

This God. Instead of another god.

This God's name. Instead of despising the fact that He's here, His kingdom, His system, His name. And in Job, "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

This spouse. Instead of wishing for another world.

These possessions (to not envy). Instead of looking outward for other possessions that are not mine.

These parents. Instead of wishing for another family.

These tasks (to do for 6 days, then take a sabbath). Instead of hoping for other tasks and trying to escape through more work.

These facts (to not lie). Stating the facts of this reality instead of fudging on the details, facts, and realities.

This is the day the Lord has made. This reality. This weather. These people. This food.

Life's biggest temptation is a call to long for the things away from this. The sacred is this moment and these people and this God.

Amazing cover image by: https://unsplash.com/@levimeirclancy