God's Commandments

 God’s Commandments

Sirach 6:37 "Reflect on the statutes of the Lord, and meditate at all times on his commandments. It is he who will give insight to your mind, and your desire for wisdom will be granted.” (NRSVCE)

“Meditate at all times on his commandments.”  This may seem like an impossible task, but I do not think that the Lord is saying that the only thing we are allowed to think about are his commandments.  I also do not think he is saying that we need to think about them all day and night.  I think what the Lord is asking us to do is to spend some time thinking about God’s laws and to really meditate on his commandments.  What are these laws telling us to do? What does He require from us?  When it says meditate at all times, what I think this means, is to have the commandments in the back of you mind at all times.  In other words, study them so that you know what is expected of you and then keep this in your mind so that you can refer to it often.  

For instance, if you have your drivers license then you know the rules of the road.  You have studied them and practiced them enough so that when you drive the car, you can recall them when you need to.  You don’t have to stop and read the rule book every time you come to a red light to figure out what you are supposed to do.  You have it memorized and you stop when you see a red light because you know that’s the law.  

Wouldn’t it be great if we knew God’s laws and commandments as well as we know the rules of the road.  I know, when we are talking about the rules of the road, we are talking about life and death situations.  If we forget a rule someone could die.  It is that important.  One small mistake could be the end of one’s life.  I understand that.  I get it.  Luckily with God, one small mistake won’t end someone’s life.  He is very forgiving and very merciful.  However, I still believe that it is just as important to know God’s commandments.  Actually, I think it is more important because we are dealing with eternal life.  

God gave Moses his 10 commandments and they were passed down through the years.  I learned these when I was a kid and yet, I am not 100% sure I could list all 10 of them off the top of my head.  As I say this outloud I think this is so sad.  How many rules to the road are there?  Too many to count probably.  Think of how many mulitiplication tables we learned growing up.  Think of all the things we have memorized and yet I can not recite off the 10 commandments.  Maybe I am in the minority.  Maybe most of you know them.  However, even if most of you that are listening to this podcast have them memorized, I bet a good majority of people don’t.  

What I am sensing right now is that God doesn’t care if we have them memorized, but He does care if we understand them.  How much time have you spent with the 10 commandments?  Be honest with yourself, how much time have you spent examining the 10 commandments?  When I was younger I used to wonder why so many people went to confession.  When I read the commandments, I did know read anything the would really warrant confession from most people.  I mean, thou shall not kill.  I am guessing the majority of us don’t have to confess that we killed anyone today.  I looked at all the commandments at surface level.  I did not dig deeper.  I did not try to understand what they meant other than the obvious meaning.  

Have you ever heard of the Examination of Conscience?  It is the coolest thing.  The Examination of Conscience takes the 10 commandments and it breaks it down into examples of all the different ways you might be breaking that commandment.  You may not think this is cool. You might be thinking that you don’t really want to know all the ways you could be breaking the commandments.  Sometimes we think ignorance is bliss.  If we don’t know we are committing a sin, then its not a sin, so why learn this information?  Won’t we be held to a higher standard if we learn all of this?  Have you ever thought things like this before?  No, no-one, it’s just me.  Well, I did have these thoughts.  On more than one occasion I wondered if it was worth learning more about my religion and more about what God expects from us because if I know more then I will be expected to do more. 

This may seem silly or crazy to some of you.  However, I know that some of you know exactly what I am talking about.  You have had these same thoughts.  And you know what, that’s ok.  It’s perfectly ok to ask these questions.  God is patient.  He knows we can be slow sometimes and He is willing to wait.  I think He actually likes when we ask questions like this because it means we are trying to really understand things and not just go with the flow.  But, that is just my thoughts.  Anyway, what I came up with when I asked these questions is, Yes, you will be held to a higher standard.  The more you learn the more that is expected of you.  The other thing that I learned is you don’t really mind this.  The more you learn about God, the closer you get to Him.  The closer you get to Him, the more you fall in love with Him.  I’m not just talking about “I love you” love.  I am talking about head over heels in love with Him.  You don’t mind being held to a higher standard because you want to do whatever you can to please Him.  You will do anything to get to spend eternal life with Him.

Also, make no mistake, that is what is at stake here.  How we spend eternity is based on the choices we make here and now, in this life.  So, of course God wants us to know his commandments.  Of course he wants us to meditate on them.  He is our Father and He wants us to come home and spend eternity with Him.  So, how can we do that?  I think a great way to mediate on his statutes is to study the examination of conscience.  There are many of them out there.  There are some that are for everyone, there are some for single people, married people, parents, etc.  They all are based on the 10 commandments, but the different versions look at the commandments through different lenses.  I think they are very interesting.  Some are very detailed.  I think I like these so much for two reasons.  First, I am a rule follower and so when I go to confession I want to do it correctly.  Which, by the way, there isn’t just one right way to do confession.  I just like the structure of the examination.  Before I go to confession I go through and write down all the things on the list that I think I have done.  That way I am not left up to my understanding fo the commandments and also so I don’t forget any.  Second, because it helps me remember things that I might have forgotten other wise.  It also makes we aware of things that I did not know about.  

I like to use different ones from time to time.  I feel like each different one I use gives me a better understanding of the 10 commandments.  Each one has questions pertaining to the commandments.  I thought I would go over one with you today, and I will put a link in the show notes in case you want to look at all the different varieties they have.  You could always do a quick google search for Examination of Conscience as well.  This one is A brief examination of Conscience that I found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.


Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God?

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.


Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people?

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.


Do I go to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday Vigil) and on Holy Days of Obligation (Jan. 1; the Ascension; Aug. 15; Nov. 1; Dec. 8; Dec. 25)? Do I avoid, when possible, work that impedes worship to God, joy for the Lord’s Day, and proper relaxation of mind and body? Do I look for ways to spend time with family or in service on Sunday?

Honor your father and your mother.

Do I show my parents due respect? Do I seek to maintain good communication with my parents where possible? Do I criticize them for lacking skills I think they should have?

You shall not kill.

Have I harmed another through physical, verbal, or emotional means, including gossip or manipulation of any kind?

You shall not commit adultery.

Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself?

You shall not steal.

Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another?

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.


Have I gossiped, told lies, or embellished stories at the expense of another?

You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.

Have I honored my spouse with my full affection and exclusive love?

You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Am I content with my own means and needs, or do I com- pare myself to others unnecessarily?

This is a brief one to get you started.  If you would like a more detailed one check out the link in the show notes. (click here) I think God is calling us to not just memorize his commandments but really understand them.  To have a really good handle on what he expects from us and then to keep that in the back of our mind so we can use this information to make all or our decisions.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, help us to understand your commandments at a deeper level.  Help us to keep learning more about you so that we can grow closer to you.  We love you and we want to please you.  We want to live up to your expectations.  We want to follow your commandments and we want to have an eternal life with you.  Help us to achieve this Lord.  Help us to know what to do and give us the wisdom we need to do it.  You are amazing Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.