Jesus replied, “The most important one is ‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You will love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”— Mark 12:29-31
Jesus had a knack for translating Scripture into practical ways of living them out. “What’s the greatest commandment?” he was asked. He said it was loving God, not in theory, but in practice: with heart, soul, mind, strength.
It makes you think. How would you translate biblical teaching into practical terms? How would you make them modern commandments? Here are some thoughts.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”– You will look beyond a person’s shortcomings to see the image of God in them.
“It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” (Matthew 15:11) –You will judge a person in terms of how they commit to making the world a better place.
“The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it.” Genesis 2:15–You will care for the land and creatures as if they are your own house and children.
“Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant.” (1 Corinthians 13:4)–You will give the other person time to become what God intended them to be.
“This is the way it will be for those who hoard things for themselves and aren’t rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21)–You will focus more on pampering God and less on pampering yourself.
“Doom to those who call evil good and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20)–You will examine your actions and attitudes in the light of Jesus’ teachings and not in the shadow of your friends’, political party’s, or even church’s doctrines.
Do you have any commandments to add?