by Glynnis Hayward

Created on: October 28, 2010   Last Updated: June 12, 2011

Looking at news anywhere today, one could believe that violence and hatred are the driving force in the world.  These are the things that make the headlines: murder, rape, fraud, theft, corruption and war.  A brief respite happened recently when billions of people around the world watched the Royal Wedding, savoring every moment of the awesome show of tradition, pageantry and romantic love as Prince William of Wales married his Kate.  People have become weary of depressing news and the joy felt around the world, even with those who have no connection to Britain and its monarchy, reflected this.

Thomas Jefferson said that it is a beautiful necessity of our nature to love something.  Love is instinctive.  A baby isn’t taught to love the one that nurtures it.  In the movie, “Love Actually,” the opening scene recalls that terrible September morning when planes flew into the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.  The people on those doomed flights used their last minutes to phone loved ones.  They wanted to say “I love you,” not “I hate you.”  When every breath mattered, it was love that counted even in the presence of such evil.

All the great religions of the world advocate love in all its facets; respect, honor, honesty, fidelity and trust.  What religions haven’t learned to do is to live alongside one another and so very often they negate their own good beliefs and teachings.  The Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of Judaism and Christianity and are held to be the laws of God handed to the people of Israel through Moses, on Mount Sinai.  They are told to us in the Old Testament of the Bible in two places, Exodus 20:2-17, and in Deuteronomy 5: 6-21.  Their message is very clear and non-negotiable.  They are not suggestions or multiple choice, they are commands about behavior. 
ONE: 'You shall have no other God but me.'
TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image.'
THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.'
FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.'
FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'
SIX: 'You shall not murder.'
SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'
NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' (i.e.Do not lie.)
TEN: 'You shall not covet.’

In short, we are old to love God above all else; honor our parents;

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