The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments…  when is the last time you really thought about them?  Not about whether or not they should be featured in front of a court house somewhere but their actual content? 

For me, they are just one of those things that I assume in my life.  I assume they are there, I assume that they all make sense in their own way and… I assume that I know them. 

But I am glad that I have gotten the chance to think about them again.  The perspective that has helped is the way David Lose describes them as a gift that a parent gives a child in order to help them live life.  Maybe it is because now I am a parent and I am one of the officially designated law givers in my house.  Maybe because my oldest is really smart and lets me know when he disagrees or sees flaws with one of the laws that I lay down.  Maybe because I picture a future in which my kids challenge and even rebel against my laws just for the sake of rebelling.

I am ready with my defense.  “These rules I have given you not because I want to oppress you, not because I want to make you feel ashamed when you can’t live up to them, but because if we are able to follow them, life in the family will be better.  Peace will abound.  We will learn how to look out for each other, respect each other, and be the family God calls us to be for the world.” 

O man, I know that there will be conversations in which that defense will sound so thin.  I picture my kids as teenagers as they roll their eyes when they hear dad repeat it yet again like he is some kind of broken record.   I see it happening because I remember doing it to my parents.  But I know that I have got to hold my line.  Because I really do love my family and I want the best for them and I have come to realize that while giving and reinforcing rules is usually a pretty thankless job it is one of the best ways to show your kids how much you love them.