I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and "Black Friday"! We definitely had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. We have so much to be thankful for! I also wanted to let you know that on "Black Friday" I got in line at Office Depot at about 3:45 a.m. to get the doorbuster computer - you know we have been needing a new computer! And I got it!! They had seven and I was seventh in line! Okay, with that let's get on with it!
Exodus 20:1-17
The Seventh Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery."
As we try to teach these commandments to our boys, Joel is at the age where he wants to know what everything means. So he immediately asked "what is adultery"? While we do not feel that four is an appropriate age to explain everything there is to know about sex, we do not want to avoid his questions. The way we explained it was to say that adultery is when you pretend either in real life or in your mind that you are married to someone else. That has satisfied him for now, but as he gets older, we truly want to teach what this commandment means to the best of our ability.
So what does it mean? Jesus clarified what the godly standard is in Matthew 5:27-28 which says,
You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This means that if we even look at someone and think about being with them sexually or even intimately, we have broken this commandment. Why is this so important to God? If sex is a gift, why can't we do it with just anyone? The reason is because sexual intimacy is truly a representation of Christ and the church. Sexual intimacy with one's spouse is holy in the same way that one's intimacy with Christ is holy. The standard is holiness. But, who is holy among man? None of us are and have no hope without Christ. The standards of this commandment are unattainable without Christ and the sooner that the Church admits that and admits that Christians struggle with it as well, the sooner I believe we will see a difference in our society in this area. As long as the Church continues to be silent on sex and sweep sexual matters under the rug, Satan will be able to continue to deceive others into believing that they are the only ones that struggle with sexual sins. Shame and isolation is his game and how he keeps believers in chains.
The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not steal"
Unfortunately, I wish this one was going to be an easy one, but I recently read some statistics that said that a large percentage of people in many countries would steal from someone if they knew the other person would not miss it. That probably does not characterize you and me, but the other statistic was that most employees spend about one work day in five doing absolutely nothing productive. That one might hit a little closer to home.
Another way that we break this commandment is by stealing others time. I know this may sound legalistic, but if we are continuously late for everything and everyone always has to wait on us, we are stealing. We also break this commandment by talking excessively on the phone with others, especially if they are busy and have told us so! So many times I will spend 20-30 minutes on the phone letting my other responsibilities go and then miss out on time with my family. I have stolen precious time from my family when I make that choice. The phone does not have to rule our lives!! I am not saying we should never talk on the phone, but I am saying that we must be mindful of our time and others time as well.
Pray about these two commandments today asking God to show you again if there is anywhere He wants you to change. Ask Him to bring to mind any habitual ways you are breaking these commandments. If He shows you any sin, confess and repent and ask Him to change your heart today.
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