28/11/2010
My take on the 10 Commandments.
Earlier when commenting on a ‘new’ (to me) blog I used the phrase ‘do unto others as you would be done by’ (I also think looking back I said it was one of the 10 commandments – which it isn’t of course…hmmm…wonder if I can edit that?), anyway I have been thinking about it. It, being the bible and God and all that stuff and thought it might make another post here. I thought I’d just look at the 10 Commandments for now.
They are rather antiquated to our modern eyes and ears but the messages they are trying to put across are just as relevant today. I do believe that if we could all hold our intentions up and measure them against these 10 ‘rules’ and then be guided by what we learn, in other words do right from wrong, the world would not be as it is today and we would all be more content.
My stance on God is that yes indeed there is a ‘higher being’, ‘greater intelligence’, ‘creator’ whatever, and that the title ‘God’ is as good as any for said entity. It was God who used the word in his Commandments after all so who are we to argue with the chap about how he should be addressed? He was also quite clear that he was the man, no interlopers or pretenders to his throne were to be given house room.
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
So yes, I accept that God is there. I just don’t go in for all the religion side of things. From my standpoint I don’t think God is very keen on religion either. All those churches and suchlike, Mary and Baby Jesus, Saints, crosses et al…
2. You shall not make for yourself any carved images, any likeness of anything in heaven above or in the earth below or that is under the seas.
All he expected of us as far as he personally was concerned was that we should not use his name in any unworthy way. Maybe like e.g. waging war for religious purposes? Using him as a rod to keep people under control? Plus of course the explanation we are all taught, not to use his name as a sort of swear word. TUT! do we really believe he cares about that? I honestly think he had bigger issues in mind with this one.
3. Do not take my name in vain.
Then of course he gave us all one day in the week to call our own, and his, ‘the Sabbath’, a day to reflect perhaps? I don’t think he meant it to be a day to go to out of town shopping centres to purchase power tools and a new sofa.
4. Remember the Sabbath.
After all these rather general commandments he proceeded to be a bit more specific. Probably having a good idea of how things would go in the long term as we got sloppy and over full of ourselves. E.G. isn’t it sad that he felt he had to put this one in our heads at all? Isn’t even sadder that he has been proven correct in his foretelling of the future?
5. Honour your father and your mother.
He obviously knew too that we were going to be a nasty vicious crowd when left to our own devices, else why would he have to come up with this one?
6. You shall not murder.
To cover the obvious dangers of uncared for children scattering the globe, neglected partners struggling to cope, families being destroyed, homes broken up we got this one.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
Knowing us well and seeing our possible laziness and materialistic tendencies coming to the fore. He instructed quite clearly.
8. You shall not steal.
Also being aware of the deeply flawed nature of our characters he tried to encourage fairness, truth and justice. Preparing no doubt for everything from the basic, ‘it was like this when I found it, or ‘it wasn’t me’, and ‘a big boy done it and ran away’ right up to ‘they had weapons of mass destruction just sitting about all over the place’..
9. You shall not bear false witness.
To finish up he gave us the longest one, trying to squash in everything he could think of. Things perhaps not relevant today but the intention is still clear nonetheless. Basically keep away from what is not yours. Keep up with the Jones if you must but work for the things yourself don’t expect them to be given to you. If you can’t be arsed to make an effort why should you have e.g. a donkey?
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s .
Now I should just like to add that the wording of the Commandments above is not precise, I am doing them from memory and that isn’t perfect I’m afraid. I think I have got the gist of them down though. I have changed the Thou to You to make the reading a bit more comfortable too.
As I said earlier, if only we followed these guidelines, we wouldn’t need any others. They really do seem to have everything covered.
It does pull one up short to realise that we have as a species managed to ‘forget’ every single one through time. God went to all the trouble of leaving us a quite comprehensive ‘Health & Safety’ booklet to see us safely through our lives and we just chucked it away first chance we got.
27/11/2010
Things I can live without.
It has been over a year since I got rid of the box. It sat there in the corner of the room with all seating angled towards it and was nothing more than an ugly focal point and incredibly successful dust magnet.
On the rare occasions I switched it on I would find myself either flicking through channels in a state of frustration that there could be so much to choose from and all of it rubbish or two hours later engrossed in a book with this annoying noise in the background.
One day as I was doing the big housework operation where furniture is pulled out from the walls to let the skirting boards be defluffed I suddenly had the exciting idea of moving things around a bit. As I shoved and pulled, tried things here and there it suddenly came to me that I was being flummoxed by the need to have ‘mister ugly’ in that corner by the electric socket and cable connection. The only answer I decided was to shift him right out of the equation and that meant right out of the door.
I suddenly had a much bigger living space. The room felt more balanced; the dark, ugly one had been devouring an area much bigger than he could really fill.
Mister ugly sat in the garden for about three hours and was then hauled away by someone who knocked to ask why my television was sitting in the garden. Off to ruin someone else’s room layout.
Since that day I have not once, I repeat, not once missed the television or regretted my impulse. I have the radio, audio books, books, hobbies and of course my trusty computer, (now all you fates that is not an invite to cause a gremlin to invade it!).
I wonder what will be the next thing to be discarded? The microwave went eons ago, no juicer, no dishwasher, no tumble drier (I hang my laundry outside on a whirly airer – okay I installed it myself and it leans a bit but simple planning on what hangs where means this is not an issue), no deep fat fryer, no food processor I am running out of things to live without.
26/11/2010
When **exactly** is Christmas again?
Honestly, I am confused. Is it October, November… I ask because the shops are blaring out Noddy Holder at top volume as he screams out ‘Itssssssss Chriiiiiistmaaaaaas’ and I feel like responding with ‘Itssssssssss bbbloody nnnnnoooooooooTTT!’
Not that I have anything against Noddy and the rest of Slade. Many happy memories have Slade playing in the background…..hmmm…..stick to the point Maggyann.
Now I do understand the whole Christmas thing. I too get a warm fuzzy feeling at the end of the year. I am sure it is caused by my ‘Bah! humbug’ attitude. I do so enjoy being morose sometimes.
I find it hard to be complacent though when supermarkets have moved all my usual purchases to any corner they can find space so as to have racks of Quality Street tins and cheap looking candles with tinsel on them. I go in there to buy the basics like bread and coffee. I can get around in 5 minutes flat. My feet take me where I want to go with no input from my brain. Imagine the shock to the system when I reach out to pick up a loaf and touch some rainbow coloured furry toy which immediately starts wobbling and screeching out some unintelligible nonsense (poor child who gets that from Santa they will have nightmares for weeks).
I can fully understand all those people trudging around buying mince pies which will be out of date before the end of November never mind them being ‘for Christmas’. I know there are people who get great joy from maxing out their credit cards so that they can pay for Christmas right up until it happens again a year later. Money being spent on expensive tat for people who would rather you hadn’t bothered.
I really do not have a problem with Christmas. I just don’t see why it has to take over our lives for three damned months.
maggyann 