The Way Things Work Best

All God is trying to do is get a message across.......as well as make a connection.......with us!

I have noticed in my experiences that a sure way to turn some people off during a conversation is to mention certain buzzwords. Words like God, Jesus, Bible, Christian, and , sometimes, even church. There certainly are misconceptions regarding God in this day and age. The misconceptions seem to be largely concerning His nature and His manner in dealing with and intent towards mankind---us---His creation.
I have seen it written in construction contracts that the contractor would be granted more time to complete his work if he was delayed by windstorms, hailstorms, flooding, earthquake, lightning strikes and other acts of God! That's not all He gets the blame for either. Haven't you ever heard, after someone prematurely dies in a car accident, train wreck, airplane crash, or drowning, someone say, "Well, it must have been his time to go and God took him".......or, how about this---Four kids die in a house fire and someone says, "Well, God loved them so much, He wanted them up there with Him."? Please!! I could go on, but, you know what I mean. I think God has gotten a bad rap!......and I think I know where a lot of that started.

I believe a lot of the negative stigma stems from a man who came down a mountain about 3000 years with 10 'Thou Shalt Nots'. (Moses only carried the 10 commandments like he was told- the second time). The Ten Commandments, generally, take on a connotation of strict rules and regulations that are to be rigidly adhered to and if transgressed will only result in the certain disfavor of God. Rules and regulations? In the same stream of thought or misunderstanding, God is considered to be an authoritative, impersonal, unapproachable 'Oz-like' figure seeking to impose His will on a lower order of life. (This view will not take you to the head of the class). Let's rethink this.

I have said for years that the 10 commandments are not strict rules and regulations enforced by some iron-fisted, legalistic taskmaster with severe penalties for lawbreakers. The commandments are, in fact, a letter from a compassionate Father to those He loves simply stating the way things work best. What things? Your life....my life....= our world. As expressed in The Maker's Diet, the commandments are "moral guidelines" that preserve "spiritual purity, social order, family stability, and community prosperity." Each commandment exhorts a principle revealed by God on 'how to get along' in this life and each commandment is actually bigger and deeper than it's face value. For example, "Honor thy Father and Mother" not only serves to establish family stability but teaches respect for authority--a community essential for success. Another example, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" teaches us that rest from our labor is essential to spiritual, mental and physical health and to dedicate a time for being with God and pursuing Him----it's not just saying to go to church on Sunday. One more example, "You shall have no other Gods before Me" is not just referring to Buddha, Confucious, or Mohammed. Other gods in our lives can easily be wealth and material possessions, reputation, careers, entertainment,etc.,etc. Each commandment is a precept in itself that along with the others, if adopted and followed, will make our world the place it was created to be. Each commandment is like a gear that, when working with all the other gears (commandments), will engage each other to drive or put in motion the wheels that will carry one through life with purpose and reward .

Now, I am not proposing as some, that the commandments are mere suggestions either. They do have negative consequences if ignored and dishonored. Most people know that these same commandments are under attack in our very own country----our very own backyard so to speak. Even though our nation's capital city is full of engravings in wood, etchings in stone and graphic references to scriptures and the commandments, the ACLU still wages a hostile assault by eliciting "their supporters to hunt down every display of the Ten Commandments for the purpose of eradicating them by judicial action"(The Ten Offenses-Pat Robertson). (If the ACLU attacks it, you know they gotta be good!). Can you believe there are those that are attempting to destroy the very foundation on which and for which this country was founded? I am reminded of Proverbs 22.28 which says, "Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set". And not just our country. These same commandments have trans-religious influence and fundamental signficance among three of the largest and most notable church organizations in the world----the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish faiths.

It is God that started this whole thing of life and creation. He ought to know what is good for it and how things work best. It only seems right to play by His rules-----oops, did I say rules?!