The most entertaining scenes in the TV sitcom “Big Bang Theory” have to be the ones with Sheldon’s mom, Mary Cooper. She is a Christian from Texas who is the complete opposite of her Darwinian son who subscribes to a different gospel.
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This clip, I think, brilliantly captures our response to today’s topic of COVID-19 where opinions are being stated as facts and facts are being diminished to conspiracies. It all boils down to where and how you live.
Did you ever think you would live to see the day where your choice of who you will listen to and follow regarding these social restrictions would lead to such harsh accusations and treatment?
My husband lets his Raisin Bran soak until all of the milk is absorbed. Not my choice, but do I have a right to get angry with him, call him names, vent on social media to shame him into eating cereal as I do? No! Of course not! But this is what is happening when people are choosing for themselves which news story to follow, whether or not it’s okay to go to the mall or to church or even to grandma’s place. They are making an issue out of someone else’s choice to eat soggy cereal, living as though their opinion is fact.
I am totally and utterly blown away at how quickly people have laid down and allowed the government to tell them how to live. We can all agree that the “rules” have been inconsistent, unclear, at best, yet people are so willing to give away their rights and freedoms to follow these ever changing “COVID rules”.
THERE’S ONLY TEN
Do you know there are 10 Commandments? Only ten! Contrary to popular belief, they are quite reasonable, consistent and not hard to follow.
Let me break them down for you. The level of difficulty in following the 10 Commandments is based on how serious you are about the first, to only have one God.
If you follow the first commandment, the second one becomes easy and the third is a breeze. God has already given you 3:1 odds of succeeding for if you start with Him you are not going to misuse His name or collect idols (even for decoration).
The fourth one instructs us to rest. That’s what a Sabbath is. Sabbath is not Hebrew for “go to church”. It is to simply rest from your obligations, deadlines and stress. Whatever that looks like for you, God is not suggesting, He is commanding you to take a break. What a great God He is!! If you are keeping track, the odds are now staked 4:1 in your favor.
So far the first four are pretty easy and it didn’t require much of anything on your part other than to follow the principle, “Start with God”.
Number five; Honor your parents. I love the rest of this commandment, “so that you may live long and well in the land God has given to you.”
I suppose my parents had a Biblical right to use the threat of sending me to Timbuktu if I didn’t get my poop in a group. Timbuktu is a real place, by the way! I haven’t been there, but I’ve looked it up on a map and can tell you it’s very far away from the land I was raised in. Not exactly ideal.
All kidding aside, if your parents are serious about the first commandment, the fifth one will seem natural. If not, you may have some challenges in learning the difference between honor and agreement for they are not the same. It can make this one more difficult but not impossible to follow.
Now it begins to get tricky. Now we are required to check our motives as we examine our hearts. Commandments five through ten instruct us as follows:
Do not murder.
No adultery!
No Stealing.
Do not lie about your neighbor.
Do not set your heart on the things your neighbor has wishing it was yours
BEGIN WITH GOD
Hmmm…seems to me that we if we begin with God, keeping the other nine develop a lifestyle. A lifestyle where you are set up for success. It’s much less complicated than trying to keep track of this COVID society rule book where it sets you up to fail.
Whether you listen to a different source of opinionated news than your neighbor and/or get serious about the first commandment, does not mean you are wrong. It simply means you have the right to choose for yourself and to honor the choices of your neighbors.
