Have you seen this?
This is one of many monuments erected around state capitals which display the Ten Commandments. It is a constant source of legal attacks by the ACLU and other anti-religious organizations, yet they continue to appear and will continue until the Supreme Court changes its stance of the subject.
And yet, apart from artistic expression, what purpose do they serve? Certainly they are not worthless, don’t get me wrong. It’s nice to walk outside and see something that brings honor to God as opposed to what is normally seen in everyday America. But sometimes my country has the same flawed idea that brought about the downfall of Israel. God’s Old Testament nation became a people content with just going through the motions and paying lip service to Jehovah on high. So long as they offered their animal sacrifices and showed up whenever they were supposed to assemble they figured they were fine. In their eyes, they were the people of God, to whom He had given His law (the tablets of stone represented just the first ten of many commandments the Israelite nation was to live by), therefore they could live however wickedly they wanted. “What’s God going to do to us?!” they arrogantly boasted…and then came Assyria. And then came Babylon. And the people found themselves defeated, displaced and nearly destroyed.
America can be just as guilty. “Oh we’re a nation of godly values!” we cry. “Just look at the giant ten commandments statue we have outside our capitals!” Yes, but what kind of laws are coming out of those capitals? Laws that strip away our God-given rights; laws that allow for the murder of unborn innocent; laws that forbid certain Bible truths from being preached in public…like Israel and Judah of old, we want to have our cake and eat it too. We want to live our way, and blow a hypocritical kiss to a slab of rock with some words carved into it.
For shame.
Instead of hiding behind tablets of stone, let’s–as a people–turn to God and allow Him to write onto our hearts His commandments to govern our lives (Jeremiah 31:33). If we do that our nation won’t need to make decorations out of God’s commandments, they will be decorating each of us individually (Psalm 119:11).
Have a great day!
Leave A Comment