By Philip W. Shields on Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Category: Light on the Rock Blogs

Preparing to keep the "Positive" Commandments

By R. Herbert

The Ten Commandments often get bad press from those who reject them as being a list of negative “thou shalt not” laws. The truth is, of course, that some commandments are just easier to state succinctly in a negative form. Which is easier to say: “You shall not steal” or “You shall always be sure that you work hard at your job, that you pay your taxes, that you return things you borrow, that you leave other people’s things untouched when they are not around, that you …, etc., etc.” ?

But beyond the simple fact that many commandments are easier to state and to remember in a “negative” format, it is interesting that two of the ten are in fact expressed positively – the commandment to remember the Sabbath (the fourth) and that to honor our parents (the fifth). The fourth commandment gives extra information to show us how not to break the Sabbath, but the essential core of both these commandments is positively framed, and the two laws actually connect in a number of ways.

Read the rest of this blog post to see the connections between the two positive commandments and what they teach us about keeping them …

This last point leads us to a practical application of the similarities between the Sabbath and parental commands. The Bible gives the principle of taking time within a “preparation day” in order to prepare to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 16:5, Matthew 27:62) – time to prepare for the day and perhaps also to “get in gear” for keeping it positively. No specific amount of time is stipulated for doing this advance work within what became known as the “day of preparation”, but the principle of doing some things ahead of time to better keep each upcoming Sabbath is clear. It’s a great principle that helps us to maximize what we can give to, and receive from, each Sabbath.

Given the fact that the fifth commandment is so similar to the fourth in its functioning and positive direction, we can ask ourselves if the principle of preparation might not be profitably applied to that also. How much preparation and thought do we put into preparing to honor our parents? Do we just keep the fifth commandment in a spur-of-the-moment manner – reacting as positively as we can as situations come up? Or do we think about and prepare to fulfill this command?

Many people who have lost one or both physical parents look back and wonder if they could have done more to honor a father or mother. What opportunities were ignored or neglected along the way? It’s something many think about too late. Wouldn’t it be better to think about that question while our parents are still with us? Thinking about and planning ways to honor our father or mother can certainly enrich our relationships with them. If you are fortunate to still have one or both parents, why not plan to take some time one day soon (we don’t have to wait for Mothers Day or Fathers Day) to think about ways to actively fulfill the command to honor them? Our keeping of both the positive commandments can be enhanced with positive preparation and thought - and both commandments bring their own rewards as we do that.

You can find other articles on Christian living at R. Herbert’s website: TacticalChristianity.org

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