The Commandments You're Not Keeping
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, search me and know my heart. Show me not just where I'm succeeding, but where I'm fooling myself. Let Your truth be more important than my comfort.
"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."
These are the first two of the Ten Commandments, given to Israel at Mount Sinai after their exodus from Egypt. They form the foundation of the vertical commandments—the ones about our relationship with God. Significantly, these are the commandments Jesus didn't list when speaking to the rich young ruler. Exodus 20:3-6 (NIV)
REFLECT:
The message made a brilliant observation: Jesus only listed five of the Ten Commandments. Not because He forgot the others, but because He was setting a trap—or rather, creating an opportunity. He listed the horizontal commandments, the ones about how we treat other people: don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, honor your parents. These are the ones we can measure, the ones we can check off. The ruler heard this list and thought, "I'm golden. I've got this covered."
But what about the vertical commandments? What about "You shall have no other gods before me"? What about "You shall not make for yourself an idol"? The message pointed out that Jesus was trying to get the man to notice what was missing, to ask, "Wait, aren't you forgetting something?" But he never did. He was too confident in his own goodness, too secure in his moral resume.
Here's what the message wanted us to understand: the rich young ruler was breaking the first commandment every single day, and he had no idea. His wealth wasn't just something he possessed; it possessed him. It was his security, his identity, his source of control. It was, in the truest sense, his god. He bowed down to it every time he made a decision based on protecting it. He worshiped it every time he found his peace in his bank account instead of in the presence of God.
This is why Jesus' final challenge—"Sell everything you have and give to the poor"—wasn't arbitrary or cruel. It was surgical. Jesus was exposing the idol, bringing it into the light, showing the man what was really sitting on the throne of his heart. The message reminded us that this isn't necessarily a command for all of us to become poor, but it is a command for all of us to identify what we're trusting in more than God. For this man, it was wealth. For us, it might be something else. But whatever it is, Jesus is saying the same thing: this has to come down.
I WILL STATEMENT:
I will take drastic action to remove my idols. Identify your "first commandment" violation. What are you trusting in for security, identity, or control more than God? Name it specifically. Then ask yourself: what would it look like to "sell everything" in that area—to take drastic action to remove that idol?
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, I confess that I've placed other things before You. I've trusted in what I can see and control more than in Your goodness and provision. Give me the courage to tear down what needs to come down, even when it scares me.