The ten commandments can be summed in two commandments. We should love God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourself. God doesn’t give us commandments to burden us; he knows that following them is what’s best for us. Just think of how different the world would be if everyone followed those two commandments.
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is easier said than done. The word that stands out to me is ALL. He doesn’t want your half hearted love or to be in the back of your mind. God wants to be loved truly and deeply. He wants to be in your thoughts everyday. We should rejoice with God in times of joy and cling to God in times of sorrow and suffering. I make it a point to ask Him for guidance in all of the big decisions in life and try to even include Him in the small ones. If you should lose everything and everyone forsake you, God still loves you. Let us return that love to Him.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. This one is the hardest to follow to the letter. I can say that I love my neighbor as myself, but usually what happens is me taking care of myself and then others. God sets the bar high to challenge us to always do better. If we aim high and miss the target, hopefully we still go the distance to make it to heaven. If we aim straight and miss, we might end up in the dirt.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you love God and how much do you love your neighbor? And no, don’t say it depends on what neighbor. Think about how you can improve your score by one number. We should always be looking at ways to improve ourselves in every aspect of our lives. However, when we increase our love for God and others, great things will happen within us.
