Ten Things I Like About You

The recent news about the death of the young actor Heath Ledger made me quite sad. I hate waste- especially wasted lives. By this, I simply mean that he was a talented actor and by his friends accounts, a wonderful father. I think that his death is something that his friends, family and the entertainment industry will long count as a huge and unnecessary loss. At this writing the cause of death is inconclusive, but many are speculating that it may be an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, as he had been having trouble sleeping for quite some time. Some have wondered if he had just taken the proper dosage according to the directions, that his tragic death could have been avoided.

Rules. We all have some we don’t like and don’t follow: speed limits, tax laws, and directional signs. I watched a video once that showed a dry painted wall with the sign that said, “Dry Paint- Please Do Not Touch.” Not very many people passed the sign without stopping, looking puzzled, and then with one finger touching the wall just to make sure that it actually was dry. We tend to think those rules are there for others, not for us. We think of those rules as hindrances’, not helps. Especially the “rules” given by God that we call the Ten Commandments.

Why would a benevolent God, who has given us free will tell us that we’re not supposed to kill, lie, or cheat, and that we should put Him first in all things (as well as the other items in the list). I can understand this better when I think way back to telling my six year old daughter she couldn’t play in the street. I didn’t do it to take her fun away, but to keep her safe. God is the ultimate loving parent who gives us rules so that we can avoid harm to ourselves and others. Sometimes, especially in our teenage years, we rebel against our parents, claiming that we aren’t children anymore and can make our own decisions.

One of my favorite movies is The Patriot, with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger (I’m a history nut), and one of my favorite scenes is between the father, Benjamin (Gibson) and son, Gabriel (Ledger). After Gabriel has stumbled home wounded from a battle and then is healed enough to return to the battle, he prepares to leave the house, to his father’s great dismay. Benjamin tells his son that he is not allowed to go back into battle. “I’m not a child!” Gabriel yells at his father. Benjamin immediately, with a pained look in his eyes, yells back “But you’re MY child!” Because of his deep love, the father wanted to protect his child. Because of His deep love, God wants to protect His children. God calls out to us, "You're MY child!" Gabriel left anyway, and we sometimes do what we want anyway.

I don’t like being hemmed in by some of the rules, but I know that there is a reason for them. I am thankful that God has made a path for me that guides me to where I need to be and keeps me out of trouble… if I just listen to Him. So, I like the list of ten rules and am grateful that Jesus made those ten simpler to remember when He taught that we should first love God, and then love each other. Maybe when we adjust our understanding of God’s rules to His way (rather than the other way around) we just might find ourselves benefiting and thanking Him for His great love for us.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)