In another essay on this blog (titled "Alleluia"), I shared the truth that the act of praising God does not enhance God but rather enhances the person who is doing the praising...it enhances the connection of the person's mind with his/her soul and with God (note that the soul is the real "person" within us...not our mind).
In like manner, the commandments given to us by God are NOT intended to please God or give benefit to Him. Rather, these commandments are user guides on how to get the best functionality out of our God-given bodies.
Society (in particular, the religious and cultural aspects of it) fails (and has failed) its "children" whenever it presents and introduces commandments in a frightening and fearful manner. The temptation and tendency to wrap truths in a package of fear is borne of our own human programming...specifically our nature to be full of fear and to be controlling as a result of it. In doing so, commandments become looked upon as unpalatable and thereby needing it to be force fed into the mind of the "child", only to be eventually met with stubborn rebellion or defiance.
We all want to understand how things are designed to work (well, most males for sure do...I say this with a smile). God made us and only He knows thoroughly how our minds and bodies work. By God's infinite wisdom (and His knowledge of how our mind works), He chose not to provide an explicit and complete user manual to go along with our bodies when it was merged with our soul.
God knows the wisdom of simplicity. In this wisdom, He saw the folly of providing a complex user manual to go along with a complex creation like the body and mind. In actuality, all that we really need is a supreme guiding principle. That supreme principle was provided to us by Jesus when He laid out a new and everlasting covenant between God and man. That supreme principle by which we should live our existence is none other than the principle of LOVE. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
I share with you what is recorded in scripture - "Jesus answered him, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'" (Matthew 22:37-40). This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' All of Moses' Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."
Notice that these commandments are ACTIVE commandments. In other words, these implore us into action...we must do acts of true love in order to be living in accordance with this principle. This is fully in alignment with the truth concerning the nature of true love...love is active; love needs to flow (it cannot stay in one place).
In contrast, most of the Ten Commandments (the old and replaced covenant between God and man) are in "thou shall not" form (PASSIVE commandments) wherein a person can practically live a life doing nothing (no acts of love) and still be deemed to be literally in accordance with the directions.
Did Jesus gives examples of how we love God? He most certainly did! Here are the teachings of Jesus as recorded in scripture - "For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was homeless, you gave me a welcome; I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me." (Matthew 25:35-36). "...'In solemn truth I tell you that in so far as you rendered such services to one of the humblest of these my brethren, you rendered them to myself.'" (Matthew 25:40).
So live your life with true (unselfish) love as best as you can and you will bring your mind and body to function in optimum condition.
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