The Second Tablet Of The Law

 

 Down the ages, rabbis have taught us that the Ten Commandments have two tablets. 

The first tablet contains the first three commandments which have to do with our relationship to God. We are to serve no other gods than He, we are not to take His name in vain and we are to keep holy the Sabbath day. 

The second tablet of the Ten Commandments deals with our responsibilities to our neighbor. It begins with the fourth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother that you may have a long life in the land.” God makes it clear that the secret to a good life in the land He had promised them begins with the family. Marriage is to have pride of place and to be respected in the order that God established. It is the only institution that can unite children with the father and mother who brought them into the world by their love. In the family, children learn the meaning of respect, hard work and sacrifice for others.

 Families are the foundation of a good society. When families are healthy, the community as a whole is healthy. When families are stable, then schools, businesses, churches and governments are also stable. Good families create good citizens.

We live in a world in which family life is under extreme pressure resulting in negative consequences throughout our society. At this point, the problem may seem too massive for any one of us to resolve. However, there is something each of us can do. By attending to the needs of our own families, we can strengthen society as a whole. That means being the best father and husband or wife and mother you can be. It means loving your children and nurturing them to the best of your ability. It means being a good and obedient son or daughter. Those small daily efforts to strengthen our families will have positive ripple effects throughout the society as a whole.

God wants us to live in peace with one another. He wants all of us to enjoy the natural resources of the world He created. The first step to lasting peace and justice in our world is to acknowledge Him alone as God and to refuse to put money, power or pleasure in His place. The second step is to protect and strengthen marriage and family life. These Ten Commandments, though carved in stone, still have relevance in today’s digital world because God’s word never passes away. If we put that word into practice, we will begin to see a world filled with justice, peace and goodwill.