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Humbling Ourselves By God's Commands Part 1 of 2
If we humble ourselves by viewing God's commands throughout His word, we will surely find countless reasons to ask for God's mercy and compassion in our lives. We need to remind ourselves from time to time that we all fall extremely short of the perfection of Jesus Christ, however this is not an excuse for us to compromise our character in any way. On the contrary, this fact should inspire us to grow spiritually. We should all know ourselves, and realize that we all have room for improvement in at least one or two areas. I think that if we begin to examine what God's word commands us to do, particularly in the scriptures known as the Ten Commandments and related verses, we can begin the process of humbling ourselves and hopefully realizing our need for His divine grace through Jesus Christ.
The Ten Commandments are found in Exodus 20. (See V*1). The first commandment we observe tells us that God does not want us to have any other gods besides Him. I believe that throughout the history of the world, particularly those of us in more recent generations, have had a huge problem with obeying this first command. Unfortunately many of us fall victim far too easily to the scheme's of the Devil, and in fact I think that in some cases some of us do a great job sinning without the Devil having to tempt us all that much. Anything that takes the place of God in our thought life and efforts constantly, I do believe, becomes a false god. This can be any possession, hobby, activity, or ideology that we participate in. To make it more clear, anything that we tend to put more thought, time, effort, and energy into other than God may become a false god to us. For example, the Bible is clear that we cannot serve both God and money. It says that we are to be devoted to one and despise the other. (See V*2). We need to avoid serving money, or any other false god, over Jesus Christ. That is why if we are to follow Jesus Christ we need to keep His word in our hearts constantly and refresh our minds with Bible study on a daily basis. That way we will not allow the Devil even a foothold [opportunity] in our lives. (See V*3).
The second commandment tells us that we are not to make an idol for ourselves. (See V*1). I think that this command can be considered similar to the first command, but it truly is a totally different command. The first command tells us not to have other gods besides Him, while this one specifically instructs us not to make an idol for ourselves. It also specifies whether or not it is in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth, that we are not to worship or bow down to any of these idols. We are also told in this verse that the Lord our God is a jealous God who punishes justly and shows compassion to those of us who love Him and keep His commands.
Allow me to elaborate a little bit on this commandment. I believe that if we had a painting representing Mary with Baby Jesus for example, as long as we understood that this painting was done as a representation of Jesus Christ with His mother and not to be bowed down to or worshiped itself I believe we are not worshiping or idolizing the item. I think that this same principle applies to wearing a cross with Jesus Christ on it, we should know that this cross is a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ went through to atone for our sins and remember that we are not to worship it as an object in any way.
We need to remember that we should not idolize anyone or anything on the face of the earth. I think many times when one of us mistakenly says that we idolize someone, in our hearts we truly mean that we admire them. It is okay to admire your favorite basketball player for example, but it is all-together something different to say you idolize or worship that person. We need to be aware of this, and keep the second commandment in mind in these cases.
The third commandment lets us know that we are not to misuse the name of God. In other words, we are not to take His name in vein. Furthermore, this verse tells us that the Lord will punish anyone who does misuse His name. (See V*1). I think that this should be treated very seriously, and we should certainly restrain our tongue, and even our thoughts whenever possible, from misusing the name of the Lord.
In the fourth commandment we are reminded that all of us should dedicate a Sabbath day. Typically we reserve this day to be on Sundays. However, I think that as long as you obey the Word of God and labor for 6 days, then proceed to dedicate a day to Him where we do not work, I think, it may be designated on any particular day of the week. (See V*1). This Sabbath day has been blessed by the Lord and we certainly need to take this time away from our labor and focus on Him and furthermore be grateful for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. I am fairly certain that God would want us to focus on Him on the day that we designate as the Sabbath day for us, but this doesn't mean that we could not do some small tasks on such a day. For example, if I perform Christ-like tasks on Sunday such as helping others or visiting my grandmother I don't consider it laborious. I would also venture to say that a small task such as washing my car or even watering the grass wouldn't be considered labor in a sense that we could not do these things on a Sabbath day. In my humble opinion, I believe, as long as we don't do our standard work and keep God in our focus all day that is obeying the biblical principle of keeping the Sabbath day holy as God commands.
I think every command is vital to living a Christ-like lifestyle, but this next command, I think, is full of promise. God instructs us to honor our father and mother so that our lives may be long in the land that God is giving us. The Bible tells us that the humble will inherit the earth. (See V*1 and V*4). God tells us in these verses that if we obey his command to honor our parents, we will live long and prosperous lives. If we humble ourselves effectively and seek to obey God's word, we can soon accept God's promises and blessings in our lives. In Colossians 3:20 we observe that as children we should obey our parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. (See V*5). Notice it doesn't say "only when your parents are correct" or "only when you are in agreement with them" or "only when it is easily done". It is clear to me that our parent's instruction is always beneficial to us, either directly or indirectly, and by obeying them we delight God.
Now that we have studied the first five of the Ten Commandments, I will move on to the other five in my next article.
Thank you for viewing and considering my article. I hope you all derive many blessings and begin the humbling process according to God's plan for your lives while you study His commandments. If you have extra time to study and cannot wait to learn more check out: www.wayofthemaster.com . It is a great resource, especially for those of us that would like to share our faith with loved ones or strangers in compelling ways.
Respectfully,
Victor Nunez
Biblical References:
V*1- "Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides Me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers' sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me and keep My commands. 7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will punish anyone who misuses His name. 8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work- you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. 12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 Do not murder. 14 Do not commit adultery. 15 Do not steal. 16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:3-17 (HCSB)
V*2- "No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money." Matthew 6:24 (HCSB)
V*3- "Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger; 27 and don't give the Devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4:26-27 (HCSB)
V*4- "But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity. Psalm 37:11 (HCSB)
V*5- "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord." Colossians 3:20 (HCSB)
Link:www.wayofthemaster.com