The Ten Commandments

Two years ago, I took my family to the Grand Canyon. It was breathtaking, but I couldn't take it in because I had Max and Max was two.

Bringing a todder to the edge of a steep cliff was one of the most frightening things I have ever done. All I could do was imagine Max toddling over the edge. As I result, I could not enjoy the view. I was just too terrified.

If only they had a place for parents and little kids, I thought. They would have a huge chain-link fence, strong and durable. The kids could play freely, protected from the monstrous heights by that wonderful, sturdy, impenitrable fence. If only that fence existed, I could enjoy the view!

When God gave us the Ten Commandments, God was really giving us a fence. God was giving us the boundaries that we must respect if we were to be safe, happy and free. You cannot have a healthy civilization if you kill one another, or steal or commit adultery. These laws were the strong, sturdy rods of the fence. These laws would keep the Israelites safe from their own darker nature, safe from mayhem and chaos, safe from violence and revenge.

It is strange to think of laws as freeing, but they are. If we are not safe from one another, then we are not free.

- The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead