Decalogue Part II
In earlier writing I have discussed my belief in the duality of mankind coming down to one essential feature above all others, namely, we are all comprised of a higher and a lower self. Within us, all of us is the ability to reach for the stars and the heavens above, or to fall into a shrouded abyss from which only the screams of the unholy can be heard.
This duality of spirit is also the reason why fate and free will seem at odds, but are necessary to realizing the difference between true acts of goodness and charity and acts of avarice, greed, lust, self-interest, pride and misplaced ambition.
It is also the place where the Third Commandment comes into play. “Thou Shalt Not Take The Name of The Lord Thy God in Vain.” For some worshipers, keeping this Commandment can be as simple as using phrases such as dag, dang, darn, gosh-darn and dagnabbit in place of damn, with or without any reference to our Lord above.
Unfortunately, these types of euphemisms, as cute and quaint as they may be, mostly depending on who is doing the saying, are other than showing respect for our Creator, not addressing the underlying reason we must not take his name in vain.
There is a worse sin, a worse blasphemy that we see creeping into the glare of mainstream America. For it is far worse to take the Lord’s name and apply His blessing to acts that are clearly beyond the scope of what any kind and loving, true God would have you do in His name.
I state clearly and for the record (again) that my God is the God of Spinoza. He is kind, loving and wants us, all his children, to be happy. Or, due to free will, if not happy by one’s own choice, then at least aware enough to realize while you are practicing acts of the lower self, you keep them to yourself.
Anger, rage, fear, hatred, these are not the bases of living in a world all too capable of promoting loving care and harmony amongst all living creatures great and small. Look around you? What does nature itself tell you? Can you honestly tell me you see a way to enlightenment through wanton acts of cruelty and killing? Do you?
Are you ready to defend your so-called right to wield a sword against your neighbor justified by allusion to “God’s Righteous Vengeance”? If so, you have already fallen into the mire of fear based and therefore usually violent solutions to problems that quite frankly don’t exist except in a delirium of hidden forces and enemies that strangely, only you and a handful of others seem capable of seeing.
My friend, how is it you have come to this deep and dark place of misery to blame your problems of faith on the workings of those who do not adhere to your philosophy of life? As at least in part revealed by your choice of “religion”? For in fact, there is no such way to follow your Lord except as the Bible itself says, through acts of goodwill and charity? Do you really believe Rambo is going to heaven anytime soon? Riding a tank, waving an American, or perhaps Trump flag, smoking a cigar, and reveling in the slaughter of millions be it through war, or a virus?
Do you believe it is better for schools or businesses to open prior to establishing a safe as possible environment? Do you believe your right to a haircut or manicure is as important as the future of our country? In short, do you believe a little death never hurt anybody?
I remember watching a television show about inmates in their natural environment, aka the human zoo we refer to as prison. On screen was a murderer who had supposedly found enlightenment while incarcerated. I say supposedly for as the convicted for murder felon tried to explain his understanding of sin, he compared the act of cold-blooded murder to the theft of a single cracker.
His take? That all sin was the same and there was no difference between taking the life of another and swiping a saltine or two from an unsuspecting cracker eater. I realized very quickly I was either listening to one of the world’s great unknown theologians or I was hearing a murderer try to justify his actions in terms that for my money seemed to alleviate himself of taking responsibility for his own actions. I know what my decision was and I’ll leave yours to you.
Yet all around us we see spiritual success and self-interest intertwined to a degree of I would dare call it a state of derangement with the never-ending chant of “more”, more, money, cars, boats, trains, Lear jets and million-dollar plus automobiles being necessary to spread the words of scripture to the masses. The trappings of wealth being an obvious symbol of our Creator’s favor.
This is a big reason the wealthy can never get to heaven. Good works are not about helping oneself, but upon offering aid and assistance to those who are in need. Good works are not about making the New York Times best seller list by writing entire books that amount to don’t worry, be happy, and if not, oh well, maybe try sending in another donation to my mega church that you still couldn’t afford in the first place. For this as well as so many acts like it, is selling the Lord to line one’s own pocket is taking the name of our Father in vain, literally “shilling” Him out for personal profit and greed.
Don’t get me wrong, for similarly, good works and the path to eternity do not require a vow of chastity, or poverty, vows of silence or self-flagellation to be an honest expression of the desire to serve. What it does require is an acknowledgment the earth is rich in abundance with more than enough for everyone to live happy and productive lives.
I find the very idea that God chooses winners and losers in this life to be an extraordinary extension of the “cracker theory” or, in other words, justification of avarice, greed and the practice of materialism in the name of all that is holy, yet clearly, is not and in fact, is the exact opposite.
Again, and again, we mistake the illusions of comfort and pleasure for proof of God’s love. Is this in and of itself a sin so great as to discount if not eliminate the opportunity to live a just, honest and caring life? I would say no. However, and I tell you truly, this path is the road to perdition and will lead to the far greater sin of adopting the entirely wrong-headed philosophy that some of God’s children must die so others can live. This is wrong, very wrong.
The fact that some will die while others live is one thing. We see this every day. But to suggest that God in His infinite wisdom has chosen one of us over another of His children because God favors you at the expense of another, you, suddenly becoming the more pious? The more filial? The more deserving of His blessings?
To take the name of the Lord, Thy God in vain, in a blatant misunderstanding and twisting of human vanity without any cause to do so, is truly untenable and a sin we must recognize as antithetical to the words of our Creator. For this my friends, is not stealing a saltine. It is taking God’s name in vain and that, we must not do.
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