The 10 Commandments

God's teachings on what it means to live for him and for others are the Ten
Commandments. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, the narrative of the Ten Commandments
is found in the Old Testament. After the Israelites were freed from slavery, the Ten
Commandments were revealed to Moses.
Reflecting on the film and the day-to-day activities of my life, I realized what kind of
person I am becoming. I have continuously hardened my heart towards God’s love and I truly
regret that. My parents have taught me to open my heart to Him but as I got older, I didn’t
realize that most of the things I do are keeping me distant and immature. I have become
impatient and unloving. I hope that as days pass by, I can go on to dedicate my life to Him and
to all people especially those in need.
If we do not understand the sense of the 10 commandments, then we will simply assume
that these are laws and regulations that govern us in terms of our religious experience but
they’re not literally a collection of dos and don'ts but an expression of the love between God and
His people.

First question: How do you understand the ten commandments? How do you view the decalogue as
christian?

I can say that I grew up close to the Church, being a lector-psalmist-commentator at the
Cathedral since my grade school years until recently, but I was also afraid of the commandments. I
thought that the commandments were only laws and regulations that govern my life as a Roman
Catholic. I became fearful of it and all those years I did not know how to react especially when I
remember the story of Moses when he came down from Mt. Sinai.

As I got older, I slowly understood that these ten were not supposed to make me cower in fear
but, instead, make me feel God’s love for me and all His people. Now I embrace the Decalogue or “Ten
Words” with my whole heart. I now know what it truly means and why it is essential to my life and all
Christians. It’s like pillars for me…pillars that are expressions of God’s undying love for all of us. Living a
spiritual life according these "Ten Words" is the response of man to this loving initiative of God.

I am beyond happy that I get to ask myself these questions now that I am in my twenties since a
lot has changed, with this I can say that, as a Christian, my belief on the Ten Commandments has
molded me into what I am today. You know Jesus responded by citing the Commandments when He was
asked what one would do to possess eternal life. He did not abolish it, but gave them the right view
instead.
Second question: what are the first three commandments of God and how do you understand them as
Catholics?

The first three commandments are:

(1) “I am the Lord Your God, You shall not have other gods beside Me,” wherein not only is this
first commandment "first" since it leads the list, but it is the most important; all the other
commandments are taken & regulated from it; the pillar of all Christian spiritual life is understanding &
serving God & gratefully acknowledging His Lordship; as a Roman Catholic, the first commandment has
showed me that I must give my whole commitment to making God the number one in my life and this
has paved way to how I perceive my life, with God as the center of it, that I can do all things with Him by
my side;

(2) “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” the second prescribes reverence
for the name of the Lord; it belongs to the virtue of faith, like the first, and it regulates our use of speech
in sacred matters more precisely; the name of the Lord is holy and we must not misuse it; growing up as
a Catholic, I was taught and I learned how holy the Lord’s name is and talking about Him as well as
dealing with His name means I must respect all that is related to Him; and

(3) “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day,” which recalls the holiness of the Sabbath and the
scripture, in speaking of the Sabbath, recalls creation; I remember my parents say that even when I was
a baby, they would always bring me to Church especially on Sabbath, or Sundays; I grew up honoring
this day, knowing that it is both my obligation to the Lord and myself that I give importance to the
Sabbath day.

Again, I am beyond happy that I get to ask myself these questions now that I am in my twenties.
I got to recall how I was raised as a Roman Catholic child and how I understood the commandments and
how I linked them to my life as years went by. I am forever grateful to the heavens for what I am today.