Most of us would find it difficult to manage the hustle and bustle of Christmas without the help of a few lists. These are scribbled on a piece of paper, written on a white board, or perhaps they pop up on a To-Do-List on your computer.
Lists are used to organize the events of our day and to lessen the stress of forgetfulness. Hosts pencil in names on guest lists; benefactors write gift lists; and wives scribble grocery lists to guide their husbands as they search for food items. Perhaps the most famous list is that naughty or nice one that’s frequently checked and monitored by old Saint Nick.
As I was rummaging through a desk drawer this week, I found a list that Mom and Pop had clipped out of a paper. It’s called the Ten Commandments For Right Living, and it offers some practical wisdom for life:
- Thou shalt not worry, for by so doing thou shalt relive the same disaster many times.
- Thou shalt not try to dominate or possess others, for it is the right of every man to govern his own actions.
- Thou halt not seek after fame, for unless God is glorified, greatness is a burden.
- Thou shalt not work for money only, for money was meant to serve. Money is a poor master.
- Thou shalt harm no other person, by word, thought, or deed, regardless of the cause: for to do so is to perpetuate the sorrows of the race.
- Thou shalt not be angry at any person for any reason, for anger injures most the one who is angry.
- Thou shalt never blame another for thy misfortune, for each man’s destiny is in his own keeping.
- Thou shalt relax, for tension is an abomination unto the flesh.
- Thou shalt have a sense of humor or thy years will seem much more tedious and painful.
- Thou shalt love the beautiful and serve the good for this is according to the will of heaven.
While I might take issue with the way some of these are worded, they do offer some good life principles. Most of the 10 can be summarized in one statement that Jesus made—The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
There’s an ocean of difference between “doing in” others and “doing for” others. Which “doing” do you do?
I’m growing weary of the societal onslaught designed to strip Christmas of its dignity and clothe it in the seams of secularization. One of the latest examples is the action of the “Executive Leadership Team” at the Salem 
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