Recently in the Sunday sermon, the priest commented that today’s society gives little importance to the Ten Commandments. I think it’s something that we should all reflect on to have a full and happy life.
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
I’m going to tell you a little story that I heard from my mom a few years ago. A friend of hers was pregnant out of wedlock, and her friends recommended abortion and even helped her get an abortifacient medication. Only Mom advised her not to do it. Mom told her, “All lives are sacred. Do not do something that you will regret all your life.” Many years later, her friend commented to my mother, “Your advice was the best I ever received in life. After my husband died, I became ill with diabetes, and I can hardly take care of myself. Of all my children, the only one who has sympathized with me and taken care of me and cares for me is precisely the one I intended to abort. Every time she comes in the morning smiling to hug me and ask me how I spent the night, tears come to me just thinking of that big mistake that I was about to commit when I wanted to kill her, still in the womb. She and her children are my reason for living, and they are the ones who give me the strength to continue fighting every day with my ills.“
In modern society, abortion is allowed; supposedly it is a decision of the mother. But what God asks of us is to respect life from the moment of conception. Never make that great mistake of wanting to abort a child.
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
For several years I was a teacher in another school, and I still have a great friendship with many of the teachers and staff. Through them, I hear the following story: “A teacher of that school passed away, and one of the administrators, taking advantage of the confusion, stole several dozen iPads that had been sheltered by the dead teacher, who used them in their classes. Two of the iPads were given to their children; the rest were sold crossing the border with Mexico. When the administrator’s wife saw that her children had two stolen iPads, she returned the iPads to the school and apologized for the facts. He told his friends that she had never passed a bigger shame, but that she could not be an accomplice to a robbery or let the loss of those computers be attributed to the dead teacher; that her conscience would not allow it.” When God tells us not to steal, he says it with absolute certainty. We should never steal. Even if there is an opportunity for men never to know about the theft, in the eyes of God we are committing a severe fault.
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
The administrator mentioned above divorced his wife and married another woman, with whom he’d allegedly had relations of several years. It is a clear case of adultery, which is also forbidden by God, who asks us always to respect the sanctity of marriage.
You must select very well the person whom you are going to marry and be faithful. In a divorce, all are affected, and the ones who suffer the most are usually the children. Divorce causes much psychological and emotional damage, even after more than 25 years.
THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT IMPURE ACTS
One of the most prevalent problems in our society is the consumption of drugs. Drug consumption causes significant harm to families and those who consume them by destroying their relationship with their loved ones and inciting them to commit crimes, turning them into shadows of their former selves, enslaved to a vice that slowly destroys them. Although the real cost of drug use is known to us, politicians, students, and even professors who use drugs have been campaigning to legalize them for the economic benefits for those who market them. But do not be deceived. Even if the drug consumption becomes legal, it is still wrong in the eyes of God, and we are offending him if we consume them.
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS
God also asks us not to lie. Although we often hear politicians and other authorities blatantly lying, we should avoid doing it ourselves because it causes great harm to others.
Many people today easily give false testimony without regard to the lives and credibility that they destroy by doing so. In our schools, it occurs with some frequency, even in some cases instigated by school authorities, who behave in an unfair and cowardly manner. Last year we learned of a teacher who committed suicide because of a lie. This was verified by investigators when they confronted the person who said it. There have also been several cases of teachers defamed unfairly, who had to stop teaching due to slander.
Betraying people who love you is one of the most detestable acts committed by human beings. That’s why I always advise my students to never lie. No one should build their lives based on lies; it is like cancer that will end up destroying you. Even if the affected persons never knew who slandered them, God always listens to our words, and we offend him with word and deed when we slander others.
