HALIFAX, N.S., July 22, 2024 – Jesus once famously stated that “the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath”.

The same could be said of the Commandments.

The Ten Commandments were made for man, not man for the Commandments. God gave us the Ten Commandments not as a burden but as a support, not as a barrier to living as we choose but as a guide to be applied in our everyday lives and especially in moments of temptation and pressure from the world.

As such, the Ten Commandments are a gift, not a curse, and should be cherished and adhered to and applied every day, not just carted out and quoted on certain occasions. They are a gift not only for their invaluable guidance but also because they assure us – with God’s full backing and endorsement – that we never need to compromise, not for anything or anyone, and not under any circumstance.

Pressure to break a Commandment is a temptation that we should never give into because we don’t have to give into it. That assurance is writ in stone by the very hand of God.

I read an article this morning on mainstream Canadian media about ordained Christian ministers getting involved in the state-sanctioned and state-enabled suicide ritual known as “MAID” (medical assistance in dying). When I say “involved”, I mean their presence was requested by the patient or the patient’s family for spiritual support during the suicide ritual.

For clarification purposes, genuinely spiritually supporting someone who is actively and unrepentantly committing suicide means doing everything you can to persuade that person not to commit suicide. Anything else is aiding, abetting, (and worse) condoning sin, which is not something a Christian minister should be doing. Suicide is self-murder, and the Commandment forbids murder of oneself or others. This Commandment is as clear-cut as every other Commandment. MAID is murder, not just suicide, and everyone who signs off on it or is present during the murder/suicide and doesn’t try to persuade the person not to commit suicide is guilty of murder.

Even so, how those who reject God and his Commandments perceive MAID is not our business. It is not our business, as born-again believers and citizens of God’s Kingdom, to impose our views on the world. Jesus never imposed his views on the world, but he also never cowed from stating his opinions on any matter when asked. We, his followers, should follow his example in this as in all things.

Jesus also told us that the world is under the administrative authority of Satan, as directed and sanctioned by God, so we’re not to intervene in the laws the world passes. They are worldly laws that have nothing to do with us and frankly we need to mind our own business when it comes to the passing and upholding of these laws. We should be aware of them, yes, but not try to strike them down or petition against them. State our opinion on the matter? Certainly, when requested or directed by God. But otherwise, we should let the world be.

Worldly laws (like MAID) exist because God has permitted them to exist, in the same way he permitted Moses to introduce bills of divorce – because people are so hard-hearted against God and his Commandments. Laws like MAID and divorce are not meant for children of God – that is, those who are reborn of God’s Holy Spirit. Laws like MAID and divorce are meant for those who are children of Satan – that is, those who are not reborn of God’s Spirit and instead have the spirit(s) of the world in them. This, sadly, includes most ordained Christian ministers these days.

If someone asks your support or presence during a planned breaking of a Commandment, you respectfully refuse to give your support or to be present. That is your duty and your right as a born-again believer. Or you can agree to be present, but only with the expressed intent to intervene – through persuasion and prayer only – to prevent the Commandment from being broken. You never, under any circumstance, condone the act of breaking of a Commandment, but you also should never attempt to force compliance with a Commandment or threaten someone into compliance. Jesus never did.

The freedom of an individual’s will is unconditional in this realm, and we need to respect people’s right to choose as much as God respects their right to choose, which is unconditionally. Still, if we’re requested to attend a planned breaking of a Commandment, we need to state our position on the matter unequivocally and unapologetically. We should never, and I repeat NEVER, be knowingly complicit in the breaking of a Commandment just because we’re asked to do so, whether in our role as a minister of God or not. If we knowingly choose to willingly lend our support in the breaking of a Commandment, the spiritual blowback on us will be enormous and may even result in our eternal damnation.

This is how important the Commandments are but also how important it is that we honor people’s free will. Pray for those whose stated plan is to break a Commandment, but also keep in mind that being present during the planned breaking of the Commandment – other than in an openly adversarial role – is support for the breaking. That is a spiritual fact.

The Commandments are a gift from God that we need to apply every day in our lives. The world may tempt us or pressure us into breaking them, but we can stand firm in the knowledge that we have God’s full backing to uphold the Commandments under every circumstance, regardless of the worldly consequences.

I would rather be punished by the world for upholding the Commandments than punished by God for breaking them.