1. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain.
3. Thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s goods.

But, hey, Creatures, I am not such an unreasonable Creator that I expect every single one of you to obey every single one of My Ten Commandments all the time, condemning you as sinners if you don’t.

I am not such an absolutist! Note the concessions I am prepared to make:

If you were born into a Buddhist or Taoist or Hindu or animistic society, you would be regularly breaking Commandments 1-3, but is that your fault? I would take into consideration your ignorance of My Commandments.

If you were born with an abnormality in a brain structure, that predisposed you towards violent, antisocial or criminal behaviour, you would be constantly breaking Commandments 4-8. But I would take into consideration the fact that as a sufferer of some genetic aberration, you were not acting entirely of your own free will, and hence not entirely responsible for your behaviour.

If you are that kind of person who can’t help envying your neighbour’s wealth or his beautiful wife whom you sometimes secretly fantasize about, you are breaking Commandments 9 and 10. There must be millions of you out there! I wouldn’t be too severe with a sinner whose sin is only inside his head, harming nobody.

So you see I am not the unreasonable Lord and God of Ten Commandments unremittingly, inexorably carved in stone. I acknowledge that even the sternest laws must be flexible, taking into account every mitigating circumstance.

Actually, I have learnt this from you, My creatures, sinful as you are.

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About Vignettes...

A continuing flow of little, readable pieces that will constitute what I feel is an important 'legacy of values' to leave behind. Read more about Vignettes...