I was scanning through the Amazon Religion Discussion Forum the other day and came upon this question: “If you could rewrite the Ten Commandments, what would yours be?” I love questions like that – questions that ask us to think in a deeper way about concepts that we often just accept without question.
So I thought about the question – and then, using the original Ten Commandments as a sort of framework, I came up with these:
1) Thou shalt have no other gods but Love.
2) Thou shalt share your wealth: Thou shalt not make unto thee any tax-free institutions or corporate loopholes to acquire money or power; Thou shalt not bow down to money or corporations; Thou shalt bring fairness and equality to the disenfranchised, the down-trodden, the underpaid, unemployed, and homeless.
3) Thou shalt respect the power of Love and Truth, and use that power to bring peace to your planet.
4) Remember to set aside time every day to appreciate all the good around you, and to use your talents – whatever they may be – to share the beauty you see in the world.
5) Honor all those who have nurtured and cultivated the best in you, and nurture and cultivate the good in others, also.
6) Love without discrimination, prejudice, or condition.
7) Keep your integrity
8) Be grateful for all that you have.
9) Look for the good in others.
10) Care for your environment and your fellow creatures.
I’d love to hear what any of my readers might come up with for this question. Care to share? 🙂
To help you get started, here are the original Ten Commandments (from Exodus 20):
1) Thou shalt have no other gods
2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images or likenesses… Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them
3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
5) Honour thy father and thy mother
6) Thou shalt not kill
7) Thou shalt not commit adultery
8) Thou shalt not steal
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness
10) Thou shalt not covet
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 
Too nice. We are not all that nice all the time.
In fact, time has proven the 10 commandments are valid and necessary.
Society does lie, steal, murder, covet and so forth.
Dear Christ Centered Teaching – well, if you look at what Jesus said later in the Bible (Matthew 5) he seems to expect more of us, doesn’t he? “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Yes Karen,
Jesus also says to love is the greatest commandment. Then He goes on to say how loving God and loving your fellow man, fulfills all the law and the prophets, that includes the Ten Commandments. Andy goes on to explain then how someone who loves God and his fellow man doesn’t lie cheat steal commit murder and so on.
Exactly! 🙂
This is an awesome approach! So thought provoking and “user-friendly.”
Thank you, Rhonda! 🙂
I love how you turned all the “Thou Shalt NOT”s into “Thou Shall”s; turning them into positive actions, rather than restrictions that we naturally seek to find loopholes in (“Thou shalt not kill… except in defense of oneself or one’s loved ones, or in service of one’s country, provided that either sufficient warning has been given or otherwise the Rules of Engagement allow for Deadly Force to be used, provided that the command to Engage was as Just one, or…).
That being said, I would modify a few of yours to include some “Thou shalt not”. Not as a prohibition, but as a guideline for positive behavior:
8) Be grateful for all that you have, and dwell not overmuch on that which you do not have.”
9) Look for the good in others, and dwell not overmuch on their short-comings.
I might rephrase your #2 as:
2) Look to where you put your time and effort for that is where your god is. Thus, do not make Money your god, nor Power, nor any Institution of Man, nor even yourself, nor any other god but Love.
But these are quibbles, You provided the beautiful framework.
Wonderful! Thank you, Allen! I like your modifications very much! 🙂
I have only one, if I may add to the discussion. “Do not reject love offered to you freely. One day when you need it, the givers will remind of how you said no.”
Oh, that is FANTASTIC!!! Thank you, Sabiscuit!
Thank you for having me. Best wishes, Karen. ❤
Karen,
I’m working extra hard on #10 right now. My last blog is all about getting military dogs back with their soldiers after they come home. If you agree please forward it on to your collective readers.
Guy Horst
Lovely! Thank you, Guy!
1. With all your heart and soul and mind know there is nothing that is not Love.
2. Cherish the One spirit that does not follow the crowd. Know who you are.
3. Actions speak louder than words. Talk the talk, but also walk the walk.
4. Recognize the presence of God. The Sabbath is a gift. Accept it and rest.
5. Love mercy. Be gracious. Be humble. Be grateful.
6. Do all things justly, righteously. Do no harm.
7. Walk with God every day. Talk with God. Listen to God constantly. He is the agent of change, not you.
8. Lying, cheating, stealing are tools of evil. Take them out of your toolbox.
9. Gossiping and tattle-tailing are stealing. Murder is stealing. Laziness is stealing. They don’t belong in your toolbox either.
10. You have all you need. You have no need to take your neighbor’s stuff.
Love these! Thank you, Pam!
From a nephew mine. Way more than 10 but, hey one could mush some of them together and get down to 10 if 10 is really important to one. 
Live beneath your means. Return everything you borrow. Stop blaming other people. Admit it when you make a mistake. Give unused clothes to charity. Do something nice and try not to get caught. Listen more, talk less. Every day take a 30 minute walk. Strive for excellence. Do not make excuses. Be on time. Don’t argue. Be kind to people. Be kind to unkind people. Let someone cut ahead of you in line. Take time to be alone. Be humble. Cultivate good manners. Don’t criticize.
Karen, this is a multipurpose post…a thank you, a testimony and a confession in accord with James 5:16.
1 Thank you for encouraging me to think deeply about commandments. 2/3 As I was lying in bed this morning, establishing my day, along comes a feeling of peace…perfect peace. Well, what’s this I asked the ether? God answered with an exposition of my version of the 10th Commandment…you have no need of your neighbor’s stuff. He told me in no uncertain terms “my neighbor’s stuff” includes reputation, relationships, friends, appearance, mannerisms. I understood immediately this applied to my long-standing jealously of one of my sisters and the peacefulness was letting me know it was totally destroyed. Exactly what I was establishing for my day when this happened, I don’t know. I’m not sure it matters.
So if we weren’t sure before that our words, blogs, offerings have a ripple effect, we can be sure now.
Wow! Thank you for sharing this experience, Pam! Wonderful, wonderful!
Reblogged this on Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist and commented:
I was scanning through the Amazon Religion Discussion Forum the other day and came upon this question: “If you could rewrite the Ten Commandments, what would yours be?” I love questions like that – questions that ask us to think in a deeper way about concepts that we often just accept without question.
So I thought about the question – and then, using the original Ten Commandments as a sort of framework, I came up with these:
1) Thou shalt have no other gods but Love.
2) Thou shalt share your wealth: Thou shalt not make unto thee any tax-free institutions or corporate loopholes to acquire money or power; Thou shalt not bow down to money or corporations; Thou shalt bring fairness and equality to the disenfranchised, the down-trodden, the underpaid, unemployed, and homeless.
3) Thou shalt respect the power of Love and Truth, and use that power to bring peace to your planet.
4) Remember to set aside time every day to appreciate all the good around you, and to use your talents – whatever they may be – to share the beauty you see in the world.
5) Honor all those who have nurtured and cultivated the best in you, and nurture and cultivate the good in others, also.
6) Love without discrimination, prejudice, or condition.
7) Keep your integrity
8) Be grateful for all that you have.
9) Look for the good in others.
10) Care for your environment and your fellow creatures.
I’d love to hear what any of my readers might come up with for this question. Care to share? 🙂
To help you get started, here are the original Ten Commandments (from Exodus 20):
1) Thou shalt have no other gods
2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images or likenesses… Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them
3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
5) Honour thy father and thy mother
6) Thou shalt not kill
7) Thou shalt not commit adultery
8) Thou shalt not steal
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness
10) Thou shalt not covet