THE TENTH COMMANDMENT......CAUSE AND EFFECT

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT -- CAUSE AND EFFECT.


I remember learning in biology class at school about voluntary and involuntary actions of the body.
Voluntary actions are those we have to consciously do, in other words, think about doing, and involuntary actions are those we don’t have to think about doing, or just do automatically. So let’s have a look at the differences.

Breathing, walking, running, blinking, heart-beating and hearing, just to name a few, are things we do all day long without being conscious of doing them. The act of talking is involuntary, but the selection of words, becomes voluntary!!
When we are shaving, getting dressed, driving the car or mowing the lawn, these are the times we are conscious of what we are doing. However, in practice it is difficult to separate the two! I’ll give an example.

You are driving your car up a hill, and hearing the engine labouring, you change down a gear, and after that you change radio stations, all the while being aware of your surroundings.
Voluntary actions:- Hearing the engine labouring, and changing the radio station.
Involuntary actions:- Driving up the hill, changing gear and being aware of your surroundings.
This example shows the transition from voluntary to involuntary!
A learner driver has to think about everything they are doing while driving, whereas an experienced driver does a lot of it automatically.

So, what has all this got to do with the tenth commandment, and cause and effect?
Well, for some reason years ago, I became aware of the importance of the 10 commandments, even though I didn’t yet understand some other things in the bible, and I thought ‘why the 10 commandments’?
Between looking at the 10 commandments and the world in general, it dawned on me, that moral issues are mankind’s biggest problem, and that doesn’t mean just the sexual aspect of them!!! Morality or immorality, depending how you look at it, has been the ‘cause’ of all our problems! The effects of course, are obvious!

Basically, the tenth commandment states that we are not to covet (desire eagerly) anything belonging to our neighbour, which means any other person. Therefore, coveting is a voluntary action, because we have consciously thought about it, which can become the cause, if we allow it to turn into a physical action!! Once it becomes a physical action, it then becomes an effect, unless we can prevent that happening.......by self control?

There are many examples throughout history, including biblical events, about desire becoming a physical act. If Hitler (a modern example) had controlled his desire to take over the world, then of course WW2 would never have happened!? It is interesting to note that in practically all occasions of wars and strife around the world throughout history, it has been instigated by an individual with a desire or agenda, who in turn influenced others to follow!!
Jesus gave us the perfect example of control over coveting, when He was tempted by Satan, and refused! (Math 4:1-11)
Every voluntary thing we do starts in the mind. If a person is going to kill someone, they first break the 10th commandment, by ‘desiring’ the person to be dead, (cause) then of course break the 6th one by physically killing them (effect) and usually go on to break the 9th commandment, by lying about it.
Thus, the same thing can apply to all of the last six commandments, as well as all the other moral issues not included in the ‘big ten’!
The well known example of this is Jesus saying, that to simply lust after a woman is to commit adultery, (Math 5:28) this was also mentioned in Proverbs 6:25.

Although the tenth commandment only refers to our neighbour, or fellowman, it also includes idolatry (2cnd commandment) because Paul said a covetous man is an idolater (Ephesians 5:5), so coveting and idolatry appear to be one and the same thing. This means we can desire or covet an idol to be included as part of our worship. (Walk into a cathedral and you will get the idea?)
Jesus made a summary of all the commandments, when He said to ‘love God and love your neighbour as yourself’ (Math 22:36-40). Loving your neighbour should ‘cause’ you to love God also, and the ‘effect’ should be obedience! So, we could safely say, that obeying the 10th commandment ‘causes’ us to obey all moral issues?

It can now be seen, that ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ applies to the Ten Commandments, through or via the tenth one, and not just to road accidents or a storm knocking a tree down on your house!!
All moral issues start in the mind, with a thought, and that is where temptation sits, so whether we stop right there, or go on to physically break a commandment is what will make us responsible for our own actions, according to Deut 24:16 and James 4:17.
Just remember the old cause and effect thing, next time you’re about to yell at that slow learner driver, or you find a wallet with ID and money in it and are tempted to take the money and toss the wallet, and think what the ‘effect’ might be!

Christianity is the only religion that allows worship and obedience from the mind and heart, with no physical actions required, and that comes through Christ, and the tenth commandment, unlike other religions that require dongs, candles, incense and statues etc. The thing is a lot of Christians still apply these ‘worship tools’ unnecessarily!!!!!

So, why was this coveting commandment laid down as the last one, shouldn’t it have been at the beginning? Well, when we look at all the other ones, they tell us about the physical things we are not to do, but the tenth one covers them all with the spirit of the laws, which originate in the mind.....saying, ‘don’t even think about it’!!!!

The Ten Commandments can be found in Exodus 20:1-17. As mentioned previously, there are more moral issues or laws than just those in the ‘big ten.’ The Ten Commandments are the foundation of all morality, and the apostle Paul made comprehensive lists of the moral issues that would ‘keep you out of heaven’ in Rom 1:29-32, Gal 5:19-21 and 2Tim 3:2-4, as well as other areas!

As always, my articles are designed to provoke your thoughts, so please feel free to comment!

Peace to all.
Colin Bowater.

A good thought provoking article Bro. Colin! Thank you! Have a nice day!
Harry