One of my favorite parts about the ten commandments is they have been given to us so that we can stay on the path that God has intended us to be on. They keep us focused. Yet, when it’s all said and done the commandments are for us. What we think we are doing to be faithful to God, is actually what he gave us so that we could be filled with happiness. It truly proves that our Heavenly Father’s joy comes from the joy he bestows upon us as we live our lives in accordance to His plan. When I read of Him weeping due to our mistakes, my heart breaks. What a beautiful thought of him smiling as we choose to follow him.
I’m going to spend the next 10 weeks going over the commandments and how they apply to our lives as Christians today. My hope is that as you read the posts and they will ignite in you a desire to studying the commandments for yourselves, and that you will aspire to live them with greater exactness.
The first commandment is:
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
“Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. “For this is the love of God,” says John, “that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3; see also 2 John 1:6). -Ezra Taft Benson
This is such a hard concept to grasp because we live in a self-centered world. Everything is about “selfies”. Social media has the world in a frenzy over how many “likes” they can receive. You can even purchase more likes to make yourself feel better. It’s crazy to think that we often care more about what people think that we never see or have never met than about what the Lord thinks. Imagine if the Lord could give us “likes” on our daily actions, thoughts, and words! How many “likes” would we receive? I’m guessing that our Facebook and Instagram feeds would look different if we were focused on pleasing God!
Put God first, regardless of the trials you face. Love God. Have faith in Christ, and entrust yourself to Him in all things. Moroni makes the following promise to such people: “And if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” (Moroni 10:32) – Elder Koichi Aoyagi
Wow! What a fantastic promise from Moroni. If we will love God with all our might, mind, and strength then His grace will be sufficient, and through His grace we may be perfect in Christ. Hold on! Do we understand what His “grace” is? Tad Callister explains it as the parachute that makes our landing back to our eternal home soft. Without it we would be left to our own powers against the harsh laws of justice. Our mistakes, every single one, would be tallied up against us without an advocate to fight for our case. It would be hopelessly impossible to improve because we would be caught in the awful chains of the adversary, without a savior to break us free. His grace is our salvation. Though it is free to all who made it to earth, it is also the key to exaltation, which requires a little elbow grease on our part. That’s were the “might, mind, and strength” comes in. We have to refocus every day. Remember him with each decision, and ask for help with every thought.
When running a race, everyone who enters the race and finishes is a participant. They can all honestly claim to have run the race; however, those who would like to excel in the race, and qualify for a greater reward, must do more than merely participate. They must work hard every day. This hard work must manifest itself in all aspects of their life. They must train with a plan. They must eat well to nourish their bodies, and they must get enough sleep and water. When all these elements come together they become a great runner, and their goals are accomplished. Long distance running exemplifies a time when hard work even beats talent. It is the same with our eternal goals and achievements–there is not one among us whose talent overrides sheer hard work. Everyone who puts God first will find themselves top achievers in their eternal progression.
For most of us, putting God first is about striving for replacing the good things with those that are better. Often the distractions in our lives are small and seem important in certain ways. The problem is that IF what we are trying to achieve has derailed us from seeking what God wants us to do, and be, then we need to refocus. I have always loved the talk “what lack I yet?” (By Larry R. Lawrence) It’s not that we are doing “bad” things, but what can we do to follow the Lord? Where does he need us? The only way to truly find out is to ask in humble prayer. As we seek to know His will for us, it will help us to avoid creating false idols in our lives.
Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
“Few men have ever knowingly and deliberately chosen to reject God and his blessings. Rather, we learn from the scriptures that because the exercise of faith has always appeared to be more difficult than relying on things more immediately at hand, carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things. Therefore, in all ages when men have fallen under the power of Satan and lost the faith, they have put in its place a hope in the “arm of flesh” and in “gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know” (Dan. 5:23)—that is, in idols. This I find to be a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god; and if his god doesn’t also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry.” -Gordon B. Hinckley
It would be a lot easier if all idols were gold statues, then we could easily avoid them. Those days are long gone, our idols are part of our everyday lives. The adversary uses them to distract us and to lull us to sleep. I believe an idol is anything that receives more attention than the Lord in our everyday lives. It’s interesting how Satan can take an innocent, good part of our lives and turn into an idol. How he can quietly and subtly replace our focus on God.
D&C 1:16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
Dallin H. Oaks gives six categories where many of our idols may fall.
Cultural and family traditions
Political correctness
Career aspirations
Material possessions
Recreational pursuits
Power, prominence, and prestige
As you prayerfully ponder these categories and think of what activity, item, or desire is taking over your thoughts and actions, you will know what you can do to start to balance your life. When Christ is at the center, everything else will fall into place. Once our focus is realigned it is amazing how much clearer the important things in life become. It is also incredible how much joys comes from a balanced life, full of Christ centered goodness.
It’s normal to lose focus, that’s part of the “natural man” characteristic that we all possess. When we feel ourselves slowly slipping, it’s time to hit our knees with a pleading heart, to help us stay on track. Life is busy, we need the Lord’s help to sift through and keep the most important things on the forefront.
There is a great object lesson, that has been around since I was a youth, is a great reminder that the Lord is not asking us to give up our hobbies, sports, work, or anything else. He is inviting us to put him front and center so he can lead us.
Object lesson: get a mason jar, rice, and enough rocks to fill the mason jar. Have one of your kids or yourself fill the mason jar with the rice. Then try and fit the rocks in? They won’t fit. Then try it again. This time, fill the mason jar with the rocks and pour the rice in. Once the rocks are in the jar there is plenty of room for the rice. The stones represent the Lord; prayer, scripture, church, ministering, going to church, and following him in our daily lives. The rice represent all our other activities that are important to us. When we put the Lord first, there’s room for those things that we care about. If we fill our lives with everything else first, we don’t have time for the Lord.
This is a theory that I have tested over and over in my life. I’m an all-in person. When I’m focused, I’m focused. During those times I can’t get enough scriptures and guidance from the Lord through prayer. Then somehow, I can’t figure out how, I get distracted, and I run out of time for the Lord. It amazes me every time. After going through this cycle numerous times, I have finally become a bit smarter. I try to catch the distractions before they consume me. I literally hit my knees and beg the Lord to help me stay focused. Often during this time, focusing on my scripture and listening during my pondering moments following prayer is difficult. Regardless, I have learned to do them until I feel my focus return. All this takes place even though I have tested the rice and the rocks and am 100% convinced that when I make time for the Lord, there is ample time for everything else. I’ve tested putting the rice first and not having time for the Lord as well. The biggest difference in the two styles is that when the my life is filled with Christ I am calmer, more patient,and filled with hope. My perspective is clearer and I can endure trials with trust that the Lord knows what I need. Panic doesn’t set in, and I am filled with joy regardless of the circumstances life throws at me. The best part is that with Christ in the center all the other nine commandments come naturally.
“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become-because he made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be…It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” -C.S Lewis
-Sherri Jorgensen
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