Attention Shoppers

Jesus made it clear from the beginning of His earthly ministry, as we discover in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, that His intent was not to abolish God's commands, but to fulfill them.  We read in that chapter:
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Consider what the world would be like if we allowed the 10 Commandments to guide us.  And, individually, if we honor the Lord, taking to heart what He said about having no other gods before Him, what an impact that would have.  Jesus was asked later in Matthew about the Greatest Commandment, and He said it was to love God with all that we are - and He mention a second, that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We keep His commands by relying on His Word and His Spirit to permeate our lives.

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Consider how society would function if we took God's words seriously and regarded Him in the first place of our lives.  In the opening passage of what is commonly known as the 10 Commandments, in
Exodus 20, we read this:
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

America is in a state of crisis regarding so many issues, and we are so in need in guidance.  A mall and restaurant owner named John Bushman is trying to do his part.

He is the owner of Music City Mall, which is located in Lewisville, TX, which is in the Dallas area. According to Religion News Service, at the mall's grand opening in late December, a large granite tablet of the Ten Commandments was unveiled.  Another monument containing "Jesus' Greatest Commandments" went up on the facility's second floor.

The article points out that:

Several of Bushman’s other businesses, including hotels and casual dining restaurants in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, have similar Ten Commandment displays. He has told Dallas media he wants the Music City Mall to be “a community space.”

A shopping mall operates like a public, community space where all are welcome. But it is actually a private space where church-state laws demanding a neutrality toward religion don’t apply.

The story says that mall's general manager, Richard Morton, "told Texas reporters...the monument reflects the mall owner’s 'belief system and he is not afraid to share it.'" The report stated that "Local non-Christians have, so far, not objected publicly. Dallas is among the most Christian U.S. cities, with a population that is 78 percent Christian and with 18 percent who claim to have no religious affiliation, according to the Pew Research Center." 

A couple of things to point out - these so-called "church-state" laws do not prohibit a display of the 10 Commandments, as long as certain conditions are met.  It is, according to Gary Randall of the blog Faith and Freedom, who is quoted in the article, "...the basis for the legal system in America, the most free, prosperous, blessed and exceptional nation in the history of the world, even though secularists claim the Commandments are ‘not’ the basis for our laws..."

And, the 10 Commandments have their roots in Jewish law, so the decalogue is not merely a Christian entity.  Plus, the 10 Commandments are, as Randall sets forth, the basis for our laws.

The 10 Commandments provide a foundation for our morality, and in a culture struggling to determine what is right and wrong that has strayed from basic moral principles, it's refreshing that this mall owner has decided to display these tenets to his shoppers.  

Local resident Colette Franklin of Denton, told Community Impact Newspaper at the unveiling, “I think it’s great, I’m excited...I think it’s great we can get back to things that we used to have and make people aware of this foundation. We teach these values already to our kids, and this helps to enforce it.”

Consider this question with me: Would society function better if we adhered to the 10 Commandments?  For example, if God were honored and exalted in the first position of each of our lives, how would that alter our behavior?

We also know that another of the commandments is "Thou shalt not kill."  When you consider that millions of babies have lost their lives since the Roe vs. Wade decision in January of 1973 and you look at the number of murders that are experienced in cities throughout America, these are just two pieces of evidence that show that we as a culture do not respect life.  

The issue of theft is also huge - "Thou shalt not steal."  And, its companion, "Thou shalt not covet..." Not only do people desire to take what does not belong to them and harbor illicit desires for what they cannot and should not have.  There is an enormous theft of innocence that has exploded in our sex-saturated society; that's what is fueling this movement to expose inappropriate behavior - women are feeling violated, as if something has been stolen from them, and it has.   

And, what would be the impact on families if we took seriously the command to honor our father and mother?   

People will deny it, but God has the best for His creation in mind, and that includes humanity.  He has given us solid principles by which we can order our lives, and Christians have the Holy Spirit to enable us to comply.  But, to unleash His power and love on culture, we have to be in proper alignment with Him, we must honor the Lord, and that becomes a sticking point for so many and a daily struggle for the Christian believer.  That's why we have to make that living and active Word a part of us.