Quote from Forum Archives on February 26, 2003, 12:11 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

This was sent to us to post on idea-central by  ChewYokeChing. We thank you for sending this article.
 
***RULES BASED ON LOVE ***

 

They may seem harsh at first, but there's a good
reason behind each one. When you think of the Ten
Commandments, do you picture a stern schoolteacher or
an unsmiling drill sergeant explaining rules to you?
All those "thou shall not's" can be intimidating at
first. But behind each one is God's love and wisdom.
God presented the Ten Commandments to guide us and
protect us from choices He knows will harm us. Here
are some principles to keep in mind about the Ten
Commandments:

 

1. God needs to be your top priority. If you give more
time, energy, or attention to anyone or anything else
in your life, you cannot live the abundant life that
God wants to give you. It's only when you commit
yourself completely to God that you invite Him to
transform you completely so you can grow to your
fullest potential.

 

2. Remember that you will become like the image you
pursue. Who do you want to look like? If you pursue
Christ, you'll be transformed more and more into His
likeness. If you chase empty images created by
society's whims, you'll end up feeling empty and
looking impoverished.

 

3. When you take God's name in vain, you're debasing
it, because you're treating it much too casually when
it should be spoken with great reverence. God's name
has great spiritual power --- speaking it actually
causes things to happen in the spiritual realms. Using
it in a careless way - such as to "damn" a particular
person or situation --- can set unintended
consequences into motion.

 

4. God has designed you to need rest on a regular
basis as part of His established rhythm of life. If
you don't take a Sabbath break each week, your
physical, mental, and spiritual health will suffer. If
you do observe the Sabbath by worshipping and
reflecting, you'll discover an eternal perspective on
all aspects of your life that will help you
tremendously the rest of the week.

 

5. Honoring your parents is important; God used them
to give you life. If God sees you visit them at
inconvenient times when they need help, call them to
express your love, and forgive them for any past
mistakes, He will be pleased and decide to bless you
as well.

 

6. Most people can't imagine that they would ever
murder someone. But when anger goes too far, that
tragedy actually can result. And there are more ways
to "murder" someone than physically killing that
person. Anytime you injure anyone with your words or
wish bad things to happen to them, you're committing
murder against them in your heart. Take your anger to
God and let Him heal your heart.

 

7. Just as with murder, the seeds of adultery are sown
in a person's mind. Don't let your mind harbor images
and experiences of which you know God doesn't approve,
and ask God to help you focus your sexual desires on
your spouse. Adultery can seem very enticing at times,
but it never delivers any true satisfaction. Instead,
it will destroy your relationships with God and other
people. Remember that love is not a feeling --- it's
an action. Whenever you choose to act in love toward
your spouse, feelings of love will eventually result.

 

8. You don't need to steal because God has promised to
provide everything you need. And He is a Father who
loves to give good gifts to His children. He genuinely
cares, and He has your best interests at heart. Decide
to trust Him.

 

9. When you speak untrue or unkind words against your
neighbors, you're committing injustices that will
inflict great harm on people God loves. But when you
encourage others with your words, you become a channel
through which God's love flows, and the overflow will
bless you. Be accountable to God and another person
(such as a prayer partner). Spend time regularly
worshipping and praising God so there won't be any
room in your mind for false or negative words.

 

10. Envy will destroy you. God wants you to have the
peace that contentment offers. The strain of
constantly wanting something you don't have and the
burden of dealing with something you weren't meant to
have can rob your life of the joy God intends for you.
 
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
 
*** Divine Cardiologist ***
 
Customer Service Rep: Yes, Ma'am, how
can I help you today?

 

Customer: Well, after much consideration,
I've decided to install love.
Can you guide me through the process?

 

CS Rep: Yes, I can help you.
Are you ready to proceed?

 

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical,
but I think I'm ready to install
now. What do I do first?

 

CS Rep: The first step is to open your HEART.
Have you located your HEART ma'am?

 

Customer: Yes I have, but there are
several other programs running right
now. Is it okay to install while they are running?

 

CS Rep: What programs are running ma'am?

 

Customer: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE,
LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and
RESENTMENT.COM running right now.

 

CS Rep: No problem. LOVE will gradually
erase PAST-HURT.EXE from your
current operating system. It may remain
in your permanent memory, but it
will no longer disrupt other programs.
LOVE will eventually overwrite
LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own
called HIGH- ESTEEM.EXE. However,
you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE
and RESENTMENT.COM. Those
programs prevent LOVE from being properly
installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?

 

Customer: I don't know how to turn
them off. Can you tell me how?

 

CS Rep: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu
and invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE. Do
this as many times as necessary until
GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have
been completely erased.

 

Customer: Okay, done. LOVE has started
installing itself automatically. Is that normal?

 

CS Rep: Yes. You should receive a message |
that says it will reinstall for
the life of your HEART.
Do you see that message?

 

Customer: Yes I do.
Is it completely installed?

 

CS Rep: Yes, but remember that
you have only the base program. You need to
begin connecting to other Heart's
in order to get the upgrades.

 

Customer: Oops. I have an error
message already. What should I do?

 

CS Rep: What does the message say?

 

Customer: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM
NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS."
What does that mean?

 

CS Rep: Don't worry ma'am, that's a
common problem. It means that the LOVE
program is set up to run on external
HEARTS but has not yet been run on
your HEART. It is one of those
complicated programming things, but in
non-technical terms it means you have
to "LOVE" your own machine before it
can "LOVE" others.

 

Customer: So what should I do?

 

CS Rep: Can you pull down the directory
called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?

 

Customer: Yes, I have it.

 

CS Rep: Excellent.
You're getting good at this.

 

Customer: Thank you.

 

CS Rep: You're welcome. Click on the
following files and then copy them to
the "MYHEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF.DOC,
REALIZE-WORTH.TXT, and
ACKNOWLEDGE-LIMITATIONS.DOC.
The system will overwrite any conflicting
files and begin patching any programming.
Also, you need to delete
SELF-CRITIC.EXE from all directories,
and to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back,
you will need to empty your recycle bin.

 

Customer: Got it. Hey! My HEART is
filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is
playing on my monitor right now
and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and
CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves
all over my HEART. Is this normal?

 

C Rep: Sometimes. For others it takes
a while, but eventually everything
gets downloaded at the proper time.
So, LOVE is installed and running. You
should be able to handle it from here.
One more thing before I go.

 

Customer: Yes?

 

CS Rep: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to
give it and its various modules to
everybody you meet. They will in turn
share it with other people and they
will return some similarly
cool modules back to you.

 

Customer: I will. Thanks for your help.
By the way, what's your name?

 

CS Rep: You can call me the Divine Cardiologist,
also known as The Great
Physician. Most people feel all they
need is an annual checkup to stay
heart-healthy, but the manufacturer
suggests a schedule of daily
maintenance for maximum efficiency
 
~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**

JUST FOR TODAY

 

 smile at a stranger
 listen to someone's heart
 drop a coin where a child can find it
 learn something new, then teach it to someone
 tell someone you're thinking of them
 hug a loved one
 don't hold a grudge
 don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry"
 look a child in the eye and tell them how great they are
 don't kill that spider in your house, he's  just lost so show him the way out
 look beyond the face of a person into their heart make a promise, and keep it
 call someone, for no other reason than to just say "Hi"
 show kindness to an animal
 stand up for what you believe in
 smell the rain, feel the breeze, listen to the wind
 use all your senses to their fullest
 cherish all your TODAYS
 
Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara
 
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