Indiana Wesleyan God Instructions Manual Ten Commandments Questions Getting Started And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought y

Indiana Wesleyan God Instructions Manual Ten Commandments Questions Getting Started

And God spoke all these words:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:1–17

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
1 Corinthians 1:25

Resources
Bible

Background Information

What do you think of when you think of the Ten Commandments? Charlton Heston? Judaism? Rules and regulations? It can be easy to see the Ten Commandments in a stereotypical or even cartoonish way based on these images or experiences from the past. Like some people’s version of Santa Claus, the Ten Commandments may be attached to an image of God that includes Him holding a list of rules and waiting to catch people being naughty or nice so that he can put them on a list.

But this is not and never was the purpose of the Ten Commandments. Everything God does is out of love and a desire for us to experience the highest good, including a deep and intimate relationship with Him.

God knows how things work. He made the heavens and the earth. He made people, relationships, marriage, sexuality, and emotions, just to name a few. The Ten Commandments are God’s way of sharing the owner’s manual for being human with us. If, with His help, we get into alignment with these ideas, we will experience more full and blessed lives. But if we choose to do things our own way, we will experience the consequences. Like not taking proper care of the car, or filling your body with junk food, it may take a while, but eventually things will break down.

As you reflect on area of ethics, values, and what you believe and why you believe it as a social worker, ask yourself whose version of life’s owner’s manual you are following. Is it one that you wrote? Or is it one your parents, a spouse, or a person (maybe even one who is dead) wrote or declared? If so, we should seriously consider how it is working in our lives. We can trust the loving designer of our souls, bodies, minds, and world to know what’s best. These are the guidelines for life spoken directly by God to Moses and He knows they will work. But if you find that in one or more of these areas you have been following someone else’s tutorial or instruction manual, you can always ask God for help and He will be glad to work with you to get back on track and rejoice with you in the blessings that await.

Instructions
Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
As you reflect on ethics and working with hurting and broken people this week, navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following questions:
How do you think the Ten Commandments promote good, helpful, or healthy actions? Give at least one example from your life or someone you know, of how following one of these commandments can produce positive results?
Why do you think people view God’s commandments (these or others in the Bible) in a negative way instead of as a guide for a fulfilling life as He intended? What do they have to gain by viewing them this way? What do they have to lose?
Where do you struggle to do things God’s way even when you know it is probably best for you? Why?
Discuss how you can use your role as a social worker to help people find a better instruction manual for their lives and how your faith might be a part of it?
Use sub-headings in your post to organize your reflections on these questions.