2011-01-24

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
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1 comment:

  1. Wu Siu Yan14/07/2012, 09:46

    Here I have a book for you,
    (*) The Book of Mormon
    http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17
    which is history of part of Joseph/Judah/Benjamin from 600 B.C. to 420 A.D.

    Note that I AM AGAINST THE MORMON CHURCH AND ALL DOCTRINES FROM JOSEPH SMITH, BRIGHAM YOUNG, ... but I believe the Book of Mormon as true history, just as I believe the Bible to be true history of Israelites.

    Time is fast running out. WATCH AND PRAY.

    Wu Siu Yan from Hong Kong
    http://wjesus.org
    Encl.
    THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES

    Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God.
    Amen.

    OLIVER COWDERY
    DAVID WHITMER
    MARTIN HARRIS


    THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES

    Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship.

    And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen. And we lie not, God bearing witness of it.

    CHRISTIAN WHITMER
    JACOB WHITMER
    PETER WHITMER, JUN.
    JOHN WHITMER
    HIRAM PAGE
    JOSEPH SMITH, SEN.
    HYRUM SMITH
    SAMUEL H. SMITH

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