Principles & Insights from the Ten Commandments

Most people think that Ten Commandments are the 'thou shall NOT' joy killers, or "Thou are Sinful' condemnation accuser and are best to be forgotten or ignored. Such are the lies of the devils. James called them the Laws of Liberty - James 1:25, and 2:12. They are for us to break free from bondage and to attain great success.
(Deu 26:18-19  18 ... so you may keep all his commandments. 19 Then  he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor.)

Do you know that the Ten-commandments were given after the people are freed? (Learned from Tim Keller's message).  They are freed first without the Law. There is nothing for them to achieve to obtain freedom. It is purely by the grace of God.

What then are the Ten-commandments for?
Not to kill their joy and restrict them. No no...
But to give them an Identity - A Brand - A Community of God's people.
To differentiate themselves from the others. To be the light that attracts.

In modern business terms, the Ten Commandments are the MVV
The Mission, Vision, and Values of the community.
By following them and living them out, they will stand out as a powerful witness.
The powerful witness is about how good become and how good you can help others to become.
Ten-commandments are then the principles for success in life.

There are two keys to achieving success with Ten-Commandments.

1. Seeing from the Position or Perspective of Accomplishment or Ability - Our New Righteousness.
   
   In OT (Old Testament) times, the Laws was given to show the character of God and how to have a relationship with Him. God is holy and he who wants fellowship with God must be holy too. It is obvious that man fails to reach God's standards. It is men looking up and trying to reach up to God.
   
   In NT (New Testament) times, Jesus has redeemed us and the Holy Spirit has given us a new righteous life. We are to take the perspective of this new righteous character and to live it out with the ten-commandments as guidelines as shown in the second point below.
    
2. Understand the principles, the insights and rephrase in the positive light.

Ten Commandments in Positive Light
The ten commandments come from "I'm the Lord, thy God" Exo 20:1 and

Deu 6:4-5  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with

1. all thine heart (pure single-minded commitment and passionate), and
2. with all thy soul (with wisdom and knowledge), and 
3. with all thy might (a living and obedient walk and work that are showing forth the glory of God).

The Ten Commandments give greater details on how to love God and others as follow:

1. No other gods - Focus and Give Top Priority to God our Lord. God is the one and only one.
2. No idols - No substitutes. Be not distracted.
3. No wrongful use of God's name - Glorify His Name in our behavior. Don't shame God's name.
4. Keep the Sabbath holy - Communion and Communication with God.
5. Honor your parents and live long on earth - Respecting Others especially our Elders in general (e.g. Bosses, Seniors, Government etc)
6. No murder - No hatred, bitterness against anyone. Instead, have compassion and care for them. Live harmoniously.
7. No adultery - No substitutes, be loyal, be faithful.
8. No stealing - Protect and Take good care of Others' resources. Give and return blessings to them.
9. No false witness - Be truthful, transparent and have no spins, no exaggerations, and no lies. Defending them against the lies that attack them. Tell others about how good they are.
10. No covet neighbor's - Take extra good care of our close-friends' possessions. Bless them by giving to them.

(Commandment 10 is a special subset of 7 and 8, emphasizing on closed friends - no adultery with neighbor's spouse and no stealing of his things)

The Insights on Love
The Ten Commandments teach us the following about loving - God, spouse, people,  company (the business and the stakeholders), church(not just the building, the congregation too), etc.

1. Focus- YES First. Highest priority over all others. Obeying or Seeking the best for them.
2. Focus - NO to others. No substitutes of any kind whatsoever.
3. Glorify His Name. In business, it is about delivering a good experience to establish the Brand Name.
4. Communicate for an intimate relationship.
5. Cascade to His people and things - from God to man, top to bottom, inside to outside.
6. Respect - treat with honor, appreciation, and acceptance. Don't show them black faces. Don't make them look bad.
7. Compassion, Concern and blessing them. Harmony and peace with them.
8. Loyalty and faithfulness.
9. Defending and Protecting & Expanding their reputation.
10. Defending and Protecting & Expanding their possessions.

If you study Eph 4-5, 1 Pet, Gal, Col, etc, the yielding to the Spirit, and abiding in Christ are all related to the above insights from Ten-Commandments.

The secret to success is to have a righteousness oriented mindset and then work out the ten commandments insights.

These are also principles for good management - focus (yes and no), branding, communication, cascading, respect, compassion, loyalty, protection of resources and brands.

See also:

1. Putting the Commandments in Order - From Ten Commandments to New Commandments
2. A Re-look at the Ten Commandments
3. Performance Management According to the Ten Commandments