The Ten Commandments: A Universal Guide to Loving Your Neighbor in Society

by Kristen Zuray

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

The other day a social media post came across my feed that made me stop in my tracks and had me puzzled. It was of a politician speaking against a bill. I don’t know what the bill was, but he was standing in opposition to the Ten Commandments being displayed in public schools. He was quite clear that he loved the Ten Commandments and strove to live by them, but he also claimed that having a poster on the wall of a classroom or somewhere in the school would not be loving our neighbor. It would be the opposite of that. He claimed that it would be hurtful to students who were of different faiths. My body tensed as I heard his comments. Something was off, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I began to pray for God to reveal the truth. Was this politician correct in his belief? 

This is the quandary that living in America has created. This country was founded on Christian principles, but slowly over the course of this country’s existence those principles that originated from God Himself became political and even “constitutional” to a degree. So, when this politician made his claims about the Ten Commandments, as an American growing up with freedom of speech and freedom of religion, what he said made sense. Since we are a country that is a melting pot of many religions and cultures, to push one way of thought over another doesn’t seem very constitutional, and yet, somehow his comments didn’t make sense. Here’s why.

God issued the Ten Commandments long before the Constitution was ever written. These commandments set the standard of living for all human kind. Its intent is to provide a healthy and prosperous way of life for everyone. Yes, it was written for the Israelites at that time, but God doesn’t change, not for anyone. That means we can apply the Ten Commandments to ourselves which many religions have done. I looked up the specific religions that this politician referenced. It’s not a surprise to discover that the Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists all adhere to similar commandments, even the commandment that says there’s only ONE God. The politician addressed concerns over one command. To state that there is only one God would be hurtful to the students of Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists. I wondered if he was correct. 

The Hindus have five principles and ten disciplines. According to “Learn Religions” the very first of five principles states, “God Exists: According to the Hindu religion, there is only one Absolute Divine (Learning Religions-Hinduism). The Sihks also believe in worshiping one god. They, too, have their ten principles to live by that are very similar to the Ten Commandments. (Learning Religions-Sihk) Onto the Muslims. Although they don’t recognize the absolute authority of the writing of the Ten Commandments, they don’t ignore them either. They, too, have their ten rules for living that are very similar, especially the first one. This states that nothing is equal with god. (Learning Religions) The Buddhists and Atheists may not believe in God, but they too, adhere to the rest of the Commandments.  Since the Ten Commandments existed before any of today’s religions, why would displaying the Ten Commandments be so offensive when the majority of the world agrees with these societal principles? The people that would cry offense are the ones living in open rebellion against these rules in any religion. Should we then cater to them so they can feel good about their rebellion?

This politician basically states that loving our neighbor means to not speak about God’s rules or have posters hanging up as reminders for a good society. Call me crazy, but I believe that withholding truth is the exact opposite of love. According to I Corinthians 13, “love rejoices in truth”.  John 14:6, Jesus says that “He is the way, the truth, and the life…” To withhold Truth (Jesus) for fear of offending is not love because the Truth will set you free. (John 8:32) So, he’d much rather have children and society to live in bondage? As Christians, we should want our children to live in real freedom that can only be found in truth. Withholding truth and allowing people to live in spiritual bondage is not love.

The Ten Commandments promote healthy living for the individual and for society as a whole. When these principles are abandoned, society falls apart. Look at history. The Roman Empire crumbled from its own greed and lust. The Persian Empire weakened from within due to greed and lust leaving them exposed to Alexander the Great. When a society neglects the Ten Commandments, it crumbles. Government leaders that sanctioned mass genocide disregarding the sixth commandment were eventually overtaken. Look at our American society that is freely promoting adultery, dishonoring parents, spreading false propaganda, and promoting lust. America is crumbling from within because we have bought into the lie that God’s laws for society are offensive. Young people are struggling to even know their own identity, healthy marriages are no longer normal, depression, suicide, and mental illness is on the rise.  How is withholding the Ten Commandments love? 

If I were to look at this politician's comments through today’s political lense, I might agree with him. But, the problem is that he took Christian love to mean something else.  What would Jesus say? Would He agree with this politician? Not a chance. He would say,

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. - Matthew 7:12 (NLT)

If I wasn’t being raised in truth, I sure would wish that someone was brave enough to show me the truth. That is what I would like to be done to me.

God also issues a warning to all of us in Ezekiel 33.

When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.

That warning should make all believers resist the urge to play it “safe” by sitting on the fence of issues. There are no fences here. The Ten Commandments don't conform to the Constitution. The Constitution conforms to the Ten Commandments. As believers, we are citizens of God’s country before we are citizens of the United States. We should never imply that God's laws are harmful or offensive. Those who oppose God will naturally be offended by truth, but we who have the truth need to be the watchman. 

These past few weeks it seems to have started a fire. Believers are awakening from their slumber of comfort. Many are rising up to expose the lies and share the truth, but there are just as many believers that are in support of those who oppose God’s laws. This is a time for each individual to decide for themselves on which side they will stand. This isn’t about political right or political left. This is about defending God’s truth or standing in opposition to it. There doesn’t seem to be a gray area. 

If you find yourself feeling confused as to what God says, what is Biblical truth versus Constitutional truth, contact us. We’ve had to do our own soul searching on this, so we’d love to be able to share what God has shared with us.