To respect the 10 commandments or simply to obey them? Their true spiritual value

To respect the 10 commandments or simply to obey them?

God gave us the laws to live, especially the 10 commandments. But have you thought about the values ​​they represent? Are you living the values ​​behind the laws?



Why do we have laws? Instead of all the speed limit laws, why not just say "Drive Safe"? Would that be enough? Would work?

From the religious point of view, why do we need the 10 commandments? Why not summarize them simply by saying "Love God and love your neighbor"?

Summaries can be attractive, yet in society and in some religions, the elaboration (or change) of laws seems to have no end. Because?

Spiritual growth

To understand biblical law, we must begin by understanding the concept of education and spiritual growth. Throughout the Bible, we are cautioned to grow spiritually. Peter concludes his second epistle with this challenge: "But grows in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).

Human attitudes towards God's law govern the range. One way of seeing spiritual growth is like a four-step process that shows your change in your approach to God's law:

Anarchy and illegality: for many, this is the starting point, where there is little understanding of God's laws or a desire to obey them.

Blind obedience: this is the point where we come to realize that God has laws that we must obey, but we lack an understanding of why and how to fully comply with the law.

Informed Compliance: This is the stage where we come to a basic understanding of the law and commit ourselves to obey. (This is often where we seek baptism.)

Life based on value: this is the final and permanent phase of growth in which we live not only the letter of the law, but the values ​​behind the law.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty lies in the transition from the third to the fourth phase. Jesus made it clear when he warned the scribes and Pharisees: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you pay the tithe of mint, anise and cummin and you have neglected the heaviest issues of the law: justice, mercy and faith. What you should have done, without leaving others loose ”(Matthew 23:23).

Here Jesus has drawn a boundary between informed compliance (only by obeying the letter of the law) and life based on value (moreover, living the values ​​of the law). Many never go to this fourth stage, which may partly explain why Jesus said: "Because many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).

What is the role of the law in spiritual growth?

From a religious point of view, the reason for God's law is clear. The law shows what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. It shows what produces good results and what leads to death. God's law defines sin (1 John 3: 4).

And there is another reason for the law. Meditating on the letter of the law can help us learn the underlying values: the spirit of the law. The law represents the desires and values ​​of God.

When I think of the relationship between laws and values, I am reminded of a summer job I had when I was in college. I worked in a large shipyard known for building all types of ships, from atomic submarines to aircraft carriers.

To ensure quality work, there were a myriad of rules, standards and work procedures (laws). But the values ​​were expressed very eloquently by an inscription on a statue of the founder, located at the main entrance of the courtyard where most of the workers passed daily. The writing read: “We will build good ships, if possible with profit, at a loss if we have to, but we will build good ships