THE TEN[DER] COMMANDMENTS: Tall Tales Everyone lies. But just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t make it right. Abraham lies about his relationship to Sarah because of fear. He also tries to justify his lie by pointing out how it is partially true. We do many of the same things. Yet, because Christ is the Truth (cf. John 14:6), we are called to be truthful.

"The Ten[der] Commandments - R-E-S-P-E-C-T" The great Greek philosopher Aristotle asserted that families are the basis of any healthy society. The writers of Scripture would agree. Thus, families need to thrive. The Fourth Commandment is meant to foster such thriving. Parents and children are to show mutual respect to each other. commands?

In the ancient world, someone’s name was also their reputation. God does not want us to take His name in vain because that damages His reputation. Yet, by how we live and by what we do as Christians, we often do besmirch how God wants to be known. Honoring God’s name, then, includes everything we say and do. My Next Step(s): - When I am in a desolate place, I will trust that God has not abandoned me. - I will use the quiet, barren and boring times in my life to move toward God. - I will revere, not misuse, the Name of our immutable, eternal, loving God! - I will honor God’s Name by speaking/sharing it, praying it, and living it. - I will find my identity, meaning and hope in God’s Name placed on me in my baptism.

THE TEN[DER] COMMANDMENTS: The Zero-eth Commandment Debates have raged between different segments of the Church over how we are to number the Ten Commandments. Some say there are two commandments on idolatry. Others say there are two commandments on coveting. But in Jewish thought, the first commandment is not so much a commandment as it is a declaration: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). Before God tells His people what they are to do, He reminds them of what He has already done. God’s work, then, is the power behind our works.