As the temperatures begin to rise and thoughts of swimming enter into our minds, I was reminded of when I was a kid. My mother’s side of the family farmed in rural Western Kentucky and they had some property on the banks of the Ohio River. One of our family traditions was after Sunday mass, we would eat lunch, and then go down to the river to swim. What made it so great was the opportunity to play with cousins who we did not get to visit very often and our favorite thing to do was to get an old tractor tire inner tube and use it to play king of the hill and to just enjoy floating on it.
Since we were just kids, our mothers made sure we knew two commandments. First, if the water level was over our shoulders we were too far out – the water was too deep. After all, there were boats and barges still traveling up and down the river. The second commandment was that when the current took us too far down river, we would have to get back to the riverbank and walk upriver so our mothers never lost sight of us. By the way, I am sure you are thinking there should have been mention of life jackets, but we never had them – the old days!
In our modern world it seems that the actual Ten Commandments have lost favor with our culture and society. When I was a kid, they were taught in public schools and were posted on the lawn of the courthouse. Our parents knew them well and would make sure we knew them, too. I think this loss is due to the fact that we find ourselves identifying with one of two camps. Those camps are the oppressed or the oppressor. This is why the more popular celebrities in the world will identify themselves as victims even though they are rich and famous. The Ten Commandments have lost favor because they seem to be taking away our freedom, they seem to be oppressive in nature, and if this true then the only option for God is to become the one who oppresses.
In the garden, after the apple core hit the floor, we find ourselves on enemy ground and in a dangerous environment. The world is a beautiful place, and it is good. The river is beautiful, and it, too, is good, but hidden in the beauty of them both is constant peril. We do not know when our last moments on this earth may be and so there is always the risk of losing our soul. By the way, I am not sure there is a more dangerous thing than that. Because of the gravity of our existence, there must be some guardrails in place to keep us on the right path. Let us go back to my river story. Our mothers gave us commandments, not to oppress us, but rather out of love, which is directed at willing the good of the other. Our mothers simply did not want us to drown or get too far from view – again so they could make sure we were okay. As kids, we still had the freedom to play and enjoy life and we did not believe their commandments to be too oppressive.
What happened when Eve was tempted by Satan – what did the devil say? Satan tells Eve that God does not want her to be like Him and that if she would just eat the apple she would become like God. Satan tries to sell the same lie today which is that God is trying to oppress you – God is trying to keep us from becoming our best self – you are just a victim who needs to stand up and destroy the system.
As kids we just played on the river – did we have rules in place given to us by our mothers? Of course, but those rules did not keep me from enjoying time with family and the water. The same is true for us in this life. God is never the one who oppresses, rather, God is Our Father and He does not want us to drown in the chaos of this world and He does not want us to drift too far away either.
The two commandments given to us as kids were never meant to oppress or take away our freedom. They were put into place by loving parents who simply wanted us to have fun while staying out of trouble and alive. The title of this article is “The two commandments,” which was meant to get your attention because I hope you already knew that there are actually ten. Ten Commandments given to us by God – given to us out of Love – given to His children as guardrails guiding us back home at the end of the day.
-by Fr. Ryan Harpole
St. Joseph Catholic Church
