April 30, 2024

Exodus 20:12-17  (HCSB)
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 Do not murder. 14 Do not commit adultery. 15 Do not steal. 16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Kim Stahlin
The next six commandments instruct us on how God wants us to live and treat each other. They give us rules as to live in a way that reflects God’s goodness and love. Our actions are a reflection of God since we are His children. Honor your mother and father–honor and respect start at home. When you teach your children to respect you and your parents (even in our shortcomings), you are teaching them the importance to respect God (our Heavenly Father) and themselves. You can not have respect for others if you don’t have respect for God, your parents, or yourself. Do not murder–Life (both physical and spiritual) is a precious gift from God. How little the world thinks of the gift of LIFE today. We are commanded to hold life precious and cherish it. It is not to be taken for granted, disrespected, disregarded or destroyed. Do not commit adultery–today the sanctity and holiness of marriage is almost gone. But God created marriage between a woman and a man. It is Holy. It is the perfect picture of love. We are God’s bride and anything that we do that disrespects the holiness of marriage is a version of adultery. Lust, emotional affairs, living as a married couple when you are not, worldly adjustments to what marriage really is-all disrespect the commandment of God’s creation of marriage and what it represents. Do not steal–Don’t take things that have not been given to you by God. He is our provision and ALWAYS provides anything you would ever need. Do not lie–God is honest. He is honorable. He deserves and expects respect. We reflect Him, therefore we should be honest, honorable, respectful and respected as well.
You shall not covet–God has a plan for you. He provides whatever you need to do His work in your life. Each of our plans are different from each other and God will provide what He wants for us to do His work. How can we ever enjoy the abundance God gives us when we are focused on what others have? True joy and peace come from recognizing what God has given you, what He is not only doing for you, and what He wants you to do for Him. When you focus on God and His will for you, you have little time to covet what others have.