Nevertheless, let us consider what is a moral standard. Is it not a judgment as to what is right to do within a relationship? In which case, to do wrong is to transgress what is right to do; to violate the rights of another person.
Within the Ten Commandments there are four exhortations to which we are exhorted to be faithful that affect people other than our parents. These are murder, adultery, stealing and bearing false witness against one's neighbor. The fifth exhortation is to honor our parents.
Murder is something that most people have a habit of avoiding. Although, this does not mean that people do not entertain thoughts of murdering people they do not like, and probably would, if they believed they could get away with doing so. Murder is severely frowned upon in society and murderers are ostracized.
Stealing is something that is frowned upon by most people. Nobody likes to have anything stolen from them. Yet many people will steal from organizations and think that this is not as immoral as stealing from individuals.
Bearing false witness against someone is anathema among all people. A false charge purposely leveled at a person is not only an affront to individual integrity, it undermines the concept of law and order. Courts rely upon true testimony for the purposes of justice. A false witness undermines the judicial system; therefore, they cannot be tolerated.
Murder, stealing and bearing false witness are three commandments found in the Ten Commandments that seem to form the cornerstone of the justice system and are what society tends to hang its hat on. When these three moral standards become lax, society begins to collapse completely.
Adultery has to do with sexual relationships. Adultery does not affect society the same as the other three moral standards. Adultery is not as clear cut as murder, stealing and bearing false witness against another person. This is because adultery requires the co-operation of two people rather than the violation of one person against another. While frowned upon, adultery is also tacitly accepted in the spirit of "nod, nod, wink, wink, two can tango but three is a crowd, so don't get caught in the act."
Honoring one's parents comes down to what one's parents do. When we learn that our mother slept around and had half-a-dozen abortions and was a virtual prostitute while attending university, our respect for her may start to wane. When we learn our father did some disgusting things to women our respect may start to wane. But then we could be like George. W. and Jeb Bush who claim they love their father. Jeb Bush even said that he would kill for his father.
- “I love my dad. I’d kill for him. I’d go to prison for him because, I love him so much,” he said. “Thankfully I haven’t had the need to do that.” Time.com
When we begin considering moral standards, what becomes apparent is high morals are not so easy to keep. We may claim to keep high morals if we move the goal posts and living according to our own versions of morality. But when it comes to considering the basic moral behavior that is expected of people in general, we begin to discover that we tend to fall short ourselves, even if we desire to maintain a high standard whereupon we do not violate them.
The Ten Commandments include coveting something that belongs to another person as a violation of our relationship with God. The Ten Commandments are basically about relationships. They concern our relationship with humans and God Himself. They are absolute morals and form the standard by which God will judge every individual. If we violate just one of the Ten Commandments, we are deemed to be unworthy of moral excellence and judged by the commandment we break.
If God does not exist, then we have no problems. We are like other animals without a conscience. We can shoot, execute and stuff whomever we like, wherever we like, whenever we feel like doing so. Apart from some retaliation by humans, there is nothing to fear.
If the Universe was created and did not evolve from nothing by chance, and if God is real, we have a major problem when we die. We just might have to face judgment for deeds done on Earth in respect to the violation of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are high morals and the evidence from all accounts is we fail to keep them. Unless there is a way out, we are in serious trouble.
Since we did not ask to be born; since we did not ask to die; since we did not ask to be born into a world that is encompassed by suffering, only to die; for us to be judged would be unjust—unless we violated a moral code that we knew to be wrong. Is that too high a moral standard?
The Ten Commandments Were Designed For You To Enjoy And Possess Life
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