Two!

Do you ever think about the ten commandments as just an old-fashioned list of things you can’t do? A bunch of “thou shalt nots”? I'm giving the 10 commandments a closer look by blogging about one of them each Friday. Scroll down for the last two blogs on the topic.

Today's blog is on good ol' number two. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image."

OK, so most of us don't have statues of gods in our houses--Mercury with his winged helmet and shoes displayed proudly on our mantle. 

But, what's engraved on your thought that would keep you from focusing more on the one God and the good He's sending your way? (Take a look at last week's blog, One, to get a more extensive concept of the one God.) 

The distractions of our everyday lives—too much Facebook time, too much road rage, too much of whatever keeps your thoughts in swirling chaos—are the idols of today. Whatever you keep engraved in the center of your thought might as well be an idol.

The modern day idols are things like: encounters at the office that keep replaying in your mind and making you angry all over again; feeling incomplete if there isn't time to check your social media accounts; extreme worry about the plight of everyone in the world.

How can you tell if what you're thinking about has become an idol, or graven image? 

Since God is good itself, it makes sense that anything that is less than joyful, less than peaceful, less than calm in your life, isn't coming from this one and only source of good. Dwelling on those helpless and vulnerable feelings is like setting up an altar with false gods.

How do we get rid of those vulnerable, emotional, and helpless feelings that want to take over our moments and days?

Be willing today to open up your thought to the fact that God, divine Love itself, only has good in store for you, and everyone else in the world. I know, it may sound crazy when looking at the news. But, take even the slightest glimmer of good--kindness, efficiency, loyalty, honesty, purity, and so on--and magnify it. The fact that something good has stood out to you at all, means there's more where that came from! God, good fills all space. No one is left out.

Asking God in your heart of hearts to let Him be at the center of your life is effective prayer. Being willing to accept, on any level, that there may be something going on besides chaos, is like taking down the statues of other little gods from your mantle. 

Be so thankful today that God is the only power operating in your life. Because there is only one God, in reality, there are no graven images, or false gods, that can take attention away from God, divine good. 

You can read more about the nature of God, good, in Mrs. Eddy's primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. 

Come back next week! We'll be thinking about number three: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

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