So often we think of the Ten Commandments as a list of “thou shalt nots,” but it is so much more than a list of forbidden acts. It is permission to love God and to love His image bearers. In this sixth word, we are invited to unwrap the gift of protecting life physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but in order to genuinely do this, we must ask God to show us where we’ve allowed selfishness to invade the hidden recesses of our hearts. We pray with the psalmist David, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:12-13).
