Action

Matthew 19:18-19 - And he said to him, "Which?" Jesus said, "You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself."

Notice anything about Jesus' list? He skips the commandments concerning God: having no Gods before Yahweh, having no idols, and keeping the Sabbath. Which we tend to think of today as the Piety commandments.

Why? Are they so obvious that they need not be mentioned? Or are they somehow less important to God? Or are they only relevant or real if one is practicing the others?

Jesus is referencing Amos 5:21 - "I despise your festivals, and I take not delight in your solemn assemblies." Because their hearts were far from God. One cannot merely follow the first three commandments. One must follow them all - it's all or nothing! Nothing we do pleases God unless we are working to help others - our neighbors. Paul also talks about this in 1 Cor 13 - whatever good we do without love avails us nothing. We must honor God, love God as well as performing all the other commandments.

Thus, unless we are keeping the final seven, the first three are meaningless. However often we go to church, study the Bible, pray, tithe, it's no good unless we love God and our neighbor as ourself. We must love our neighbors by acting out the commandments in our daily lives. Living out the commandments entails abstaining from killing and stealing as well as positively supporting the flourishing of life. You shall not kill, you shall lift others up, help them flourish. You shall not commit adultery, you shall love your wife as yourself. You shall not steal, you shall ensure that everyone has enough so that there is no need to steal. You shall not bear false witness, you shall praise and bless others. You shall not covet your neighbors' possessions, you shall rejoice with them in their abundance, ensure all have enough so coveting is unnecessary.

What good must we do? Which commandments must we keep? Jesus tells us, calls us to make choices that benefit others as well as ourselves and our families. We need to keep all the commandments, even those that Jesus didn't mention. Then our honor toward God, our worship will be acceptable. Then we can begin to see that we are called to be "community-minded."
B