I Don’t Like Commandments
Posted on Sep 16, 2012 by Trevor in Religion
Provocative title: check. Bait and switch: check.
I’ve noticed I have a strong distaste towards the word “commandment” when used in the religious sense. The commandments. Keep the commandments. The Ten Commandments. Et cetera. Is it because I loathe God or wish to displease him? Of course not. Is it because I suppose he doesn’t have my best interests at heart, or that he issues arbitrary decrees just to test me? Nope.
I think it’s because the connotation of the word “commandment” seems to be in opposition to my understanding of the nature of God. As I see it, he’s granted us the freedom to make our own decisions, and that agency is an absolutely critical part of our development in life. I also understand that God is loving and that his intentions are for us to become like him and experience complete happiness. That he would “command” us to do something seems incompatible with those ideas.
To me, the word “command” has some serious negative baggage, like domination, supreme authority, self-interest, etc. Commandments are like rigid rules that may or may not serve any purpose other than to glorify a greedy and jealous rule giver, and this tyrant is just waiting gleefully for his hapless servants to fail so he can swiftly and harshly punish them. A king commands his servants. A dictator commands his orders to be executed. It seems perfectly in line with something a brutal ruler would issue. (As a side note, it seems to closely parallel the often barbaric understanding that Old Testament cultures seemed to have of God, as opposed to the loving God often portrayed in the New Testament.)
Loving guidance from God, on the other hand, seems totally reasonable. I have no problem with that at all. God gives us guidance that he hopes we will follow because he knows we will be happier if we do. Great!
Is my rejection of the term “commandment” just due to semantics? I think so. George Albert Smith said:
[Commandments] are but the sweet music of the voice of our Father in heaven in His mercy to us. They are but the advice and counsel of a loving parent, who is more concerned in our welfare than earthly parents can be, and consequently that which at one time seemed to bear the harsh name of law to me is now the loving and tender advice of an all-wise Heavenly Father.
– George Albert Smith,
Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Ch. 18
So let’s ditch the word “commandment” in lieu of something more positive and more accurate. Can we say that Moses held up stone tablets containing “The Ten Loving Pieces of Counsel”? Yeah, the wording there kinda sucks. But I’ll continue avoiding “commandment” and continue searching for a better word.
