Chapter
17

The First Three Commandments

In This Chapter

Exploring behaviors that uphold or break the first commandment

Naming promises, blasphemy, and oaths in the second commandment

Learning how to keep holy the Lord’s Day

Our relationship with and duty to God as expressed in the first three commandments

The Ten Commandments can be broken down into two sets: the first three commandments, which focus on God’s place in our lives and the reverence due him, and the other seven commandments, which focus on our relationships with other people and the respect due them.

In this chapter, we will explore the first three commandments, the ones that focus specifically on God. Even if you don’t know the exact wording and placement of these commandments in the Decalogue, which we’ll get to in a minute, you probably know what’s at the heart of them: God, who is supposed to be first and foremost in our lives.

Jesus took these first three commandments and transformed them with his law of love, that is, the New Law we read about in the previous chapter. Quoting from Deuteronomy, he preached the rule of love as it is found in the Old Law (remember, that’s the Law of Moses, also known as Mosaic law, whose core is the Ten Commandments): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) At the Last Supper, Jesus proclaimed a new law: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

Jesus puts a new face on God for all believers. He is no longer a distant authority figure to be feared but is instead a beloved Father who deserves all of our devotion.

With these first three commandments and all the rest to follow, Jesus transforms the Old Law into a living law where love of God and neighbor is always the overarching principle.

#1: God First—No Matter What

I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. (Exodus 20:2–5)

This is the first commandment, which may sound complex but simply reminds us in true Old Testament style that we are to have one God and one God only. In the New Testament we hear Jesus, when he is tempted in the desert by Satan, repeat this commandment in an abridged and simpler version: “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” (Matthew 4:10)

So this commandment seems pretty easy to follow, doesn’t it? As long as we don’t worship any other gods, we’re safe. But wait a minute. What qualifies as a god in God’s book? There are some more blatant examples such as the golden calf of Old Testament fame, the one the Hebrews built when they thought Moses was never going to come down off Mount Sinai. But don’t be surprised to learn there are sneaky versions of other gods hidden right under our noses in our everyday lives.

When this commandment refers to avoiding “other gods,” it is referring to anything that becomes an idol to us; this includes money, power, beauty, work, or fame. The list is endless, really.

Teachable Moment

When a young man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life, Jesus told him to “keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17) When the man says he is already obeying the commandments, Jesus issued the ultimate challenge: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21) The Catechism explains that the evangelical counsels—poverty, chastity, and obedience—are “inseparable” from the Ten Commandments. (2053)

So if we are to have no other gods other than God, then we must understand what it means to have God, meaning we must understand how to live our lives in such a way that indeed puts him first. So let’s explore what the Catechism says about that.

Faith, Hope, and Charity

The Catechism explains, “God’s first call and just demand is that man accept him and worship him.” (2084) This involves living out the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, which we discussed in Chapter 15.

We are called to make these virtues an active part of our lives in an effort to give due reverence to God—putting him first—and to avoid sins that weaken these virtues in us. Let’s break each one of these down, to more fully understand their unique characteristics.

Faith is considered the “source” of moral life. Sins against faith include voluntary doubt about or outright rejection of the faith; disbelief; heresy; apostasy, which is the “total repudiation of the Christian faith”; and schism, which involves a break with the Roman Catholic Church. (2087–2089) Hope is the expectation that we will receive divine blessings and will one day see God in the kingdom. Sins against hope include despair and something called “presumption,” which is when we think we don’t need God to save us or when we presume we will get into heaven through God’s mercy even if we are unrepentant and undeserving. (2090–2092)

Charity beckons us to love God above everything else and to love all of his creation in him and because of him. Sins against charity include indifference toward God’s charity; ingratitude; “acedia,” which is spiritual laziness; “lukewarmness,” which is “hesitation or negligence” with regard to God’s love; and, finally, hatred of God, which is grounded in pride. (2093–2094)

In other words, lack of faith, hope, and charity in their various forms does not put God first, but instead puts opposing forces at the forefront. Therefore, living by these virtues is honoring the first commandment.

Virtue of Religion

Next we come to the concept of the “virtue of religion,” which is an “attitude” that puts us in the frame of mind to revere God in ways befitting the Father, Son, and Spirit. (2095) By practicing the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, we are more likely to practice the virtue of religion. Let’s look at some ways that the virtue of religion can be put into practice:

Adoration is “the first act of the virtue of religion,” the Catechism says. This involves, first of all, acknowledging God as creator and Savior, as the infinite Lord of all, and as infinite and merciful love. By worshipping God alone, humanity steers clear of the “slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.” (2096–2097)

Prayer, the Catechism explains, is an “indispensable condition” for obeying the commandments. It helps us live out the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and it enables us to praise God and seek his help. (2098)

Sacrifice is an outward sign of our inner gratitude. We are not talking about Old Testament–style sacrifices involving lambs or other animals. We are talking about personal sacrifices, spiritual sacrifices that unite us to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. (2100)

Promises and vows are an integral part of a life of faith. We find them in many of the sacraments—baptism, marriage, confirmation, holy orders—and we make them in our personal prayers when we offer a particular action or sacrifice to God. (2101)

The Catechism, quoting the Vatican II document on religious freedom as well as the Code of Canon Law, says all people are “bound” to seek out the truth about God and the Church and to “embrace it.” Christians have a “social duty” to awaken in others the “love of the true and the good” and to tell others about the Catholic and apostolic faith. However, no one should be forced to act against their conscience, and no one should be prevented from adhering to their faith in public or private. (2104–2106)

Church Speak

A vow is a “deliberate and free promise made to God.” When we profess a vow, we promise something before God or dedicate ourselves to God in a special way. (2102)

Superstition and Magic

When the first commandment talks about honoring God above all else, it also forbids anything that attributes events or powers to something other than God. This includes things like superstition, idolatry, divination, or magic, where hope for a particular outcome or event relies not on God but on some other source of power.

When you rely on superstition, for example, then rather than putting your trust in God, you put your trust in an omen, a sign, a good luck charm, or a particular activity you always do at a certain time in order to influence—at least in your own mind—a certain outcome. The Catechism makes an important point here: when we think that the mere external performance of prayers or sacramental signs are effective, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, we fall into superstition. (2111)

Idolatry, while it may sound like an old term, has a stronghold in our modern-day society. The first commandment forbids polytheism, which is the belief that there are other divine beings in addition to the Triune God. You are guilty of idolatry not only when you put another being in God’s place but also when you put another thing—again we go back to money, power, fame—ahead of God. The Catechism says that idolatry is “a perversion of man’s innate religious sense.” (2114)

Divination is when you look to something or someone outside of God to give you information about the future and to bestow on you some sort of power over time. This certainly involves practices such as recourse to Satan, but it may sometimes even include things as seemingly benign as horoscopes and Tarot cards or clairvoyants and mediums. The Catechism calls divination a contradiction of the “honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.” (2116)

Magic or sorcery is an effort to “tame occult powers” in order to use them to have power over other people or things. Even using magic for good purposes is not allowed because it is “contrary to the virtue of religion.” (2117)

Rejecting God

The first commandment also forbids irreligion. This category of sin includes tempting God, which is when you put God to some sort of test; sacrilege, which is when you profane some aspect of faith, in particular the Eucharist; and simony, which is the buying and selling of spiritual goods, such as a bishop taking money for making a priest a pastor, or a lay person trying to “buy” a baptism, wedding, or other sacrament by paying off a priest to administer a sacrament that should not be administered. (2118–2121)

Also on the forbidden list, for obvious reasons, is atheism, which is a complete rejection or denial of the existence of God (2125), and agnosticism, which does not deny God’s existence but says it is impossible to prove. While agnosticism can include a search for God, it is more often “equivalent to practical atheism,” the Catechism says. (2128)

Teachable Moment

The first commandment forbids the worship of “graven images.” In the Old Testament this referred to any man-made representation of God. However, the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus, the Incarnate Word, ushered in a new “economy of images,” meaning that not only Christ but Mary and the saints could be portrayed and venerated as well. These images do not constitute “graven images” because they are not worshipped as you would worship God; instead they are given honor and devotion because of the way they witness God’s love to us. (2129–2132)

#2: Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

The second commandment is pretty clear-cut. We are meant to respect and honor God’s name, and all variations of God’s name, including the name of Jesus Christ. We’re also supposed to respect the names of Mary and the saints to boot. (2146)

The Catechism explains that we are not supposed to use God’s name in our own speech unless it is expressly to “bless, praise, and glorify” God. By respecting his name, we respect the “mystery of God himself” and evoke the “sense of the sacred.” (2143–2144)

Keeping the second commandment also means keeping any promises we have made in God’s name. Breaking such a promise is a “misuse of God’s name” and, according to the Catechism, makes God out to be a “liar.” (2147)

Blasphemy is when we speak or act in a way that is directly opposed to God or anything sacred. Blasphemy includes hatred, disdain, or defiance expressed toward God, the Church, and the saints. Blasphemy also includes killing, torturing, or committing a crime in God’s name. (2148)

It is also a grave sin against the second commandment to profess a false oath in God’s name or to commit perjury, which is when you make a promise to tell the truth with no intention of keeping it. This calls on God to be witness to a lie. (2150–2152)

True Confessions

The Church teaches that Jesus’ teaching on taking oaths does not exclude oaths made “for grave and right reasons (for example, in court).” Discretion should be exercised, however, in calling on God’s name as witness to the truth of what we say. (2154)

Jesus further explained and expanded the second commandment:

Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, “Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.” But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your “Yes” mean “Yes,” and let your “No” mean “No.” Anything more is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33–37)

#3: Keeping Holy the Sabbath

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8–11)

Teachable Moment

For Christians, the Sabbath, or Lord’s Day, is celebrated on Sunday because it is the day of Christ’s Resurrection. It is the “first day,” recalling God’s first creation, and the “eighth day,” symbolizing the “new creation” that begins with Christ’s Resurrection. (2174)

The third commandment focuses on the holiness of the Sabbath, recalling how God rested on the seventh day after the creation of the universe and made it holy. The Catechism explains that Scripture also “reveals in the Lord’s day a memorial of Israel’s liberation from bondage in Egypt.” God told the Israelites to keep the Sabbath day holy. For the Sabbath is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money. (2168–2171)

Now, Jesus takes the original premise of the Old Law and adds deeper meaning to it. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28) Jesus, in compassion, declares that the Sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies, a day for doing good rather than harm. (2173) The meaning here is that the day created by God for rest from your work does not mean you can take a rest from your faith, and further, that it’s a day in which you should do good.

Sunday Obligations

Keeping the Lord’s Day holy translates into some pretty concrete things for Catholics. First of all, it means participating in Mass, either on Sunday or at the Saturday vigil, and on holy days of obligation. But the Sunday obligation is about more than simply getting your ticket punched. It is about celebrating the Eucharist on Sundays as was passed through apostolic tradition. (2177)

Deliberately missing Mass on a Sunday or holy day is considered a “grave sin” unless you have been excused for a serious reason (for example, you are sick or caring for an infant) or have been given a dispensation. (2181)

Church Speak

Vigil Mass is a Mass celebrated the evening before a feast day or a day of solemnity. If you participate at a vigil Mass on the evening before a day of obligation, you satisfy your obligation to participate at Mass the next day. For example, Catholics may attend a Saturday evening Mass at 5 P.M. to fulfill their Sunday obligation. The same holds true on holy days.

For God’s Sake, Rest

Sundays aren’t just about attending Mass. The Sabbath is meant to be a day of rest, so that means we are supposed to take a break from the usual grindstone.

You are not only obliged to go to Mass but to relax, which does not mean you have to sit quietly at home. Sundays are meant to be for family activities, and for cultural or social events as well as religious ones. (2184)

“Sunday is a time for reflection, silence, cultivation of the mind, and meditation, which furthers the growth of the Christian interior life,” the Catechism says. (2186)

The Church recommends that it is important for Sundays and holy days to be recognized as civil holidays and for Christians to serve as public examples of prayer, respect, and joy. Christians should also “defend their tradition as a precious contribution to the spiritual life of society.” Even if you have to work, you should still set the day apart from the rest of the week “and the day should nevertheless be lived as the day of our deliverance ….” (2188) In other words, punching the clock on a Sunday should not prevent you from making time for God and time for Mass.

The Least You Need to Know

The first commandment forbids the worship of any gods other than the one Triune God, as well as superstition, magic, divination, and idolatry.

Love of money, power, beauty, or fame are examples of what can usurp God’s place in our lives as forbidden by the first commandment.

The second commandment commands respect and honor not only for God’s name in all its variations, but also for the names of Jesus Christ, Mary, and the saints.

Breaking a promise made in God’s name, making a false oath, or committing perjury are offenses against the second commandment.

The third commandment requires Catholics to keep the Lord’s Day holy by participating in Mass on Sundays and holy days, and by setting aside time on Sunday to relax and participate in leisure activities.