The 1st Commandment: Many Interpretations

FRI., JAN. 24, 1997, 8:02 PM
FARM, STUDY

Your conversation with My servant Dave was good for both of you. He is one who has been an avid reader of the “conversations” We seem to have in Our Ruminations. Some of what I say to you is not what he would expect Me to say, but his faith tells him that you are listening and writing what you hear… from Me.

His major concern, today, was with your approach to what could be cancer of the prostate. He is urging you to rely on the more standard approaches of technological medicine, so that you might be “guaranteed” a longer life. I shall respond to that perception with one interpretation of My first Commandment… as God to Moses and the Hebrews. (But initially I must assure you that Dave is quite sincere, and his perception of how I work in human lives is a legitimate Christian one, even though it is not quite what I want for you).

The First Commandment proclaims that “You shall have no other gods before Me”. That’s usually interpreted to mean that you shouldn’t worship Baal… or Krishna… or any deity that is touted to be equal to… or even superior to… Me. It can also refer to money and giving more attention and allegiance to money and the means to obtain more of it… and to the “things” it can buy. Another referent is power… over others, and the satisfactions that can come from holding power over the present and future actions and conditions of some others.

The interpretation I want you consider now, in relation to Dave’s concern, is in making a god of human life, including your own… even a God. Wait, now… am I not the Creator of life? Do I not value human life above all else? I am the Creator of life, but, more importantly, of the total web of life, which includes the necessity of death, as a balance to life. The Old Testament story suggests that in the early portion of My influence on humans here in the earth men lived much longer than now, with Methuselah having the apparent “record” at 969 years. That means that if he died today, after that length of life, he would have been born rather early in the year 1,000. Is that longevity true… or not? It really doesn’t make much difference. Today, in your culture, the expectation for men is something over 72, and you’re nearly to that mean already.

As I have told you several (if not many) times before, I see some value in a longer life, and, occasionally, I help make that possible. I also see a lot of waste in attempts to keep some persons… old ones or those handicapped or diseased in some serious way… alive, by complex medical, surgical, and pharmaceutical means. Oh, some who participate in such acts, as physicians, nurses, or other medical personnel, are truly sincere and even see what they do as dedicated service to Me. I appreciate such dedication, but that doesn’t mean I have to approve of the acts, as such.

I like human life, and I want you to like and honor it, also. And yet it is just a portion of eternal, everlasting life. It is not to be worshipped, any more than money, prestige, power, or Pele. Remember the statement by the woman pastor (whose name is lost to you, now), to the effect that she appreciated the reality of death, for it almost “forced” an appreciation of life, moment by moment, and in total. As Jesus I certainly could have prevented My early death, but I didn’t. I gave up My earth life that you might also live on… as I clearly did.

At this time there is no reason for you to “go medical”. The natural substances you are taking regularly seem to be maintaining you. You have a few imperfections, but basically you’re strong, alert, healthy, and enjoying life. You have few pains… and many satisfactions. You believe that positive attitudes, intellectually and emotionally, along with a buoyant, positive spirit can affect your internal secretions so that life continues, even if there are some cancer cells. I affirm that this is true.