Not Sin

...so that you do not sin.

 - From Exodus 20

It's the week that The Ten Commandments appear in the Lectionary, probably a momentous date. God explains why He spoke to Moses, why He acted as He did, and why He gave them these commandments:

"So that you do not sin."

The world loves to mock the idea of "sin." But our Designer explained that we can have peace, and love, and happiness and wealth, if we don't sin. The Ten Commandments are the basic tenets. 

They are linked together. You do one, and the others will be easier to do. If you don't covet, you are less likely to kill.

Let me rephrase that. 

If you don't covet, you will not kill. 

If you don't lie about your neighbor, and they don't lie about you, you won't kill. A culture that does not lie, will not kill either, since murder starts with a lie. 

If you don't steal, no one gets killed. A person that has been burglarized wants revenge and "justice."

"Justice." That's a good word, and a problematic one. If just is a high goal for your society, it's easy to imagine murder and killing as accepted practices. We want to be fair, you know.

If you honor your father and mother, you will not murder. You want to see them again, don't you? Why would you throw a snare in the way of eternal life for yourself and others?

Very simple. The Ten Commandments are just a starting to point to removing all of the ills in society. But if society thinks they're a joke, it's gonna be hard to do.