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A Blueprint for Happy Living
God has given us the blueprint for a fulfilled life through the Ten Commandments. You could call it a blueprint for happiness: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly . . . but his delight is in the law of the LORD . . .” (Psalm 1:1, 2). We have already covered the first four commandments (dealing with our relationship with God). Now we move on to the remaining six (dealing with our relationship with man). A Love for God Affects Our Love for Others Why did God put the commandments in this order? God knew that when we love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind, we will better be able to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” If I love God with all my being, a supernatural love will overflow to others—even those who are difficult to love. The deeper our love for God, the greater our capacity to love others.
Read Exodus 20:12-13 Commandment #4: “Honor your father and your mother . . .” (v. 12). It is interesting to note that the first command having to do with our relationship with others relates to the family. In essence, this is a root commandment. Here God underscores His purpose and plan for the family. The strength of a nation is directly related to the strength of its families. Most social problems today can be traced to broken homes—and specifically fatherless homes. Today half of America’s children live apart from one or both of their parents. Never in our history has there been more of an absence of fathers. This could be our country’s undoing. It has been said, “A family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family.” For that reason, God reminds us of the importance of honoring our mother and father. The Hebrew word for “honor” comes from a verb meaning “to be heavy.” In other words, we are to give weight, or importance to our parents. We are to respect and esteem them. Colossians 3:20-21 echoes this thought: “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
God has placed parents as the authority in the life of a child. In many ways, we represent God to our children. This means that what the Lord is to us, we are to our children. A child who responds to that relationship will find it far easier to respond to the claims of Christ. Alan Redpath once said, “Happy is the child who learns from honoring his parents to honor the Lord. And happy are the parents who so honor the name of Jesus, it is easy for the children to honor them.” The reason why the children of some Christian, church-going families rebel against the faith of their parents is because they see their parents contradicting what they say they believe. We as parents need to be a witness in our homes to our own children, as well as the outside rule. As Andrew Murray said, “The secret of home rule is self rule, first being ourselves what we want our children to be.”
Regardless of how honorable a mother or father is, God tells children to obey and honor their parents. The fact is, most parents have their children’s best interests at heart. Most of us would not be here today if it were not for our parents’ warnings and protection. It brings a parent great joy when the lessons they have taught to their children have been learned and followed, and even more so, when the God of the parents also becomes the God of their children. King David, while on his deathbed, gave these parting words to his son Solomon: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Commandment #5: “You shall not murder” (v. 13). This commandment forbids the taking of another human life for no justifiable reason. Tragically, this commandment seems to be ignored more and more.
Such violence has undermined the sacredness of human life. We call unborn babies such things as fetuses, embryos, globs of cells, or products of conception. This goes directly against the teachings of Scripture, where we read: “You [God] made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:13-16 NLT).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes the idea of murder a step further: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21-22a). Many people in the depths of their heart have anger and hatred to such a degree that their true desire is for the hated person to be dead. This is clearly forbidden in Scripture: “Anyone who hates another Christian is really a murderer at heart” (1 John 3:15a NLT). The word used for “hate” in this verse means “to habitually despise—not just a transient motion of the affections, but a deep-rooted loathing.” Ephesians 4:31-32 gives us the remedy for this hatred: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (NLT). We cannot do this change of heart on our own, but through Christ we can—and must!
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