In the few moments of our lives that we are truly serene, we are able to drop our differences and connect wholly to the world; when the strings of our inner sinful feelings of hatred and aggravation unlatch from those surrounding us. The deity of the God that I know can only be understood when soaked in serenity, and let no man see Him until he experiences the same feelings within himself; when an ethereal peace overcomes him naturally, if only for just a moment. My goal is to show that even my most peace ridden neighbors that do not know Him lack the divine serenity that allows me to accept how they feel towards me, my thoughts, and my feelings.

Dramatic things are happening between a lot of the people that¬†I know and fingers are pointed at me for being the center of all the problems. I don’t take this personally. When people say things like that, I just¬†look at what they might be doing wrong and say to myself, “don’t get upset, for they know not what they do.” First of all, there is a circle of lies. People are gossiping and blowing things out of proportion. This essentially makes everthing worse. Also, sex is involved or sex-related things. Hopefully, people just realize what they’re doing. I’ll be glad to be the one to help them realize it. Don’t think that I know what they’re doing wrong- I can see some big things, but I’m sure there’s a lot more. I’m not going to judge them. I just want them to realize what their mistakes are.

If you’re a teenager and you feel like everything is falling apart, don’t be angry at yourself for your problems.¬†Look at what you’re doing. Be open minded. My best advice is to link back the reasons for all of your major problems to whether you’re following the ten commandments or not.

If you are dishonoring one of the ten commandments heavily, then, you could probably link back your biggest problems to that one. If you want to talk about any one of them, I’d be more than happy to do so with you. I bolded the things that¬†I feel most teenagers have problems focusing on…

1. The first Commandment forbids us to put anything before God. It applied to the Jewish people then as the gods of their neighbors often tempted them: The Baals and the Asherah poles. It applied to Germany sixty years ago where god was a god of racial purity. It can apply to us in our modern world where acquisition is the god of the day. God is demanding that first of all, we give Him prominence.

(Bill’s say in it: When we are prominent to what “He” asks for out of us: to help others and drop our own lustful and greedy desires we will be infinitely happier… that is why God wants us to be prominent towards him. Nothing else is better for us.)

2. Commandment number two includes an explanation in the expanded version found in Exodus 20. It describes the types of images that might be made and…“you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” No image of God will ever be found in a Synagogue and the Romans were astonished to find no statues in the Holy of Holies when they destroyed the temple in 70AD. “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” The wholeness of God cannot be captured in a picture or statue. God will not tolerate images, which might replace Him as an object of worship.

3. What does it mean to take God’s name in vain? It’s an attitude problem. Many use God’s name daily because they have a poor vocabulary. God’s concern here is with respect for “the name”. God’s very name represents who he is; His power, nature and character. It is a powerful name and should be spoken with respect. To take God’s name in vain is to discount His position and authority.

4. Some of the Commandments can be turned into positive statements: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. There are whole denominations that have been created over interpretations of this command. What is its purpose? In the circumstances where it was given, to a nomadic agricultural society, one could work every day. 24/7 is expected of the ambitious today. Maybe there is a natural rhythm to life where we need one day out of seven to recuperate and rest for the next six days. This commandment has protected workers from unscrupulous masters for centuries. The day of rest was originally Saturday. The early Christians decided to use Sunday. St. Paul said that we shouldn’t judge each other over Sabbaths. We need to take one day off per week. It’s good for us.

5. Honor your father and mother. This commandment has a promise attached. “…that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Family is important. If we continue honoring our parents through our life, our children will see us and hopefully get the message. It is one key to an orderly society.

(Bill’s say in it: If your parents have serious issues, it could probably lead back to them not following this one. NEWS TO YOU: you’re not going to help if you continue what they did. This doesn’t necessarily¬†mean do what they say. Our parents don’t even make the best decisions sometimes and I think we all know that but, honoring them is a completely different thing. Don’t blow up on them if they make mistakes. Honor that they’re the reason why you’re here and they probably have sacrificed a lot to better your life. And also! You need to honor your teachers. Your parents should be your biggest¬†teachers but, unfortunately, our society¬†today isn’t always like that.¬†Your school teachers could have a lot to teach you besides academics.)

6. Do not murder. Did God have to say it? Murder must refer to people taking the law into their own hands and killing. It cannot refer to war or capital punishment. These are dealt with elsewhere in the Bible. The Children of Israel waged great wars in God’s name. This commandment refers to our personal responsibility for the death of others. It is a rule for the individual.

7. What does adultery mean? It means what it always meant; cheating on your spouse. Jesus carried it one step further when commenting on this commandment. He said, ‚Äúwhoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt.5: 28) In our age of easy access to sex, the commandment applies to much that goes for entertainment in the year 2000.

(Bill’s say in it: Our (teenagers) lust for sex is a distraction from what is truly important. The more lustful sex you have and let take control of you, the more problems you are going to have ultimately because sex is going to be more important. Sex is for adults. Let’s keep it that way.)

8. Do not steal. We all know what that means and we don’t rob the bank or the supermarket. Where most of us need help is in the “gray” areas like income tax returns, lotteries and expense accounts.

9. Perjury is usually translated as “false witness”. When we’re called to testify in court we are asked to swear on a Bible that we will be honest. What is the value when so many today do not even believe that the Bible is God’s word? To be caught lying in court is perjury. The ancient Hebrews answered to judges and I expect that this injunction meant more then and helped the judges to administer justice. Gossip and slander must fall under this heading.

(Bill’s say in it: Naturally you are no communicator of gossip. Don’t say more than you know. Keep it simple and unbiased. Don’t add to things because it will backfire in some way or another.)

10. Do not covet anything that is your neighbors’. This is greed and envy, focusing on what others have and what we don’t have. This is the one commandment that is hardest to obey. We see things every day that we want. It’s the basis of our commercial society. “Create a need then fill it.” is the lesson taught to new salespeople.

(Bill’s say in it: Wanting what others have is disobeying the first commandment, as well. You’re putting your wants before God’s wants. And the things that god asks for will help you. Remember that. Once you find ultimate truth, you’ll give prominence to God. Don’t say that¬†men know what God wants out of you. No one can communicate correctly. It’s up to you to do your research into what it means to be here and to learn what being prominent to “him” is.)

I think I hit the teenage ones right on the dot. I know that others would be the reason for some adults’ problems, but we have different lives than them. Adolescence is searching for an identity. If you have problems or arguments against anything I just said, I’ll talk to you about it, but I warn you! Think it through.

Tonight, I’ve pondered a lot about the subject of religion. I am more sure a few things and questioning a few things. First of all, I will say that I’m not questioning God’s existence or questioning whether or not¬†Jesus was here for the reasons he said he was. I believe that there is a God or a higher power who told us what we can and cannot do. There is proof all over that we didn’t follow his guide lines. We sinned. We are not perfect people. I believe that Jesus came and took our sin away to save us and bring us into heaven, closer to God, where true happiness will be found.

As a person, you are given a freewill and a life that you can make or break. You are told what to do and what not to do and why you should or should not do these things. All of us except for one have not followed those things. If we do follow those things, it is said that we are given true happiness in a perfect relationship with God and then, afterwards, eternal life without the stresses of this world and if we are sinners we must accept that Jesus came to take away that judgement of us: a free ticket into heaven and eternal life in happiness.

We can all say that we’ve sinned in one way or another and that we’ve put shame to ourselves in front of God, that is if he is there and watching, which I believe he is. If we don’t make one of those two decisions I talked about, then we go to hell. I’ve been wondering about hell lately. Hell is a horrible place from what it sounds like and no one wants to go there, but I don’t believe that just because you didn’t believe that Jesus came to wash away your sin, you should be put to eternal punishment or at least the¬†picture of this punishment¬†that is painted by the Bible. Tonight, I’m starting to think that hell may be just a ceise of existence. No forgiveness or eternal life of happiness. You simply do not matter or¬†exist in any way forever after judgement. Your soul is de-activated.

Maybe that is a horrible punishment for some, but I still have yet to see how bad it is. Eternal life of happiness sounds pretty tight to me, but I’m not asking for it. I love my life and I would be completely down to not existing after I die. The only thing is… I do believe he’s out there and I do believe he sent someone to blind him of our imperfections when we meet him in heaven simply by believing that he sent that someone. Life should reveal how¬†much better¬†I will have it later and how much I should want it.

I don’t look at this world as a nasty place for me, but that’s from my perspective. God sees how ugly we are and tries to tell us how perfect it is up there… but I don’t understand perfection. I love with all my heart that I have been given the possiblities to make this amazing life that I plan on having. Having that super-duper close relationship to God doesn’t seem like I’d be much happier. I thank him every day for giving this to me. Maybe this is the relationship…

This gift of being healthy for 17 years,¬†living the American dream, being able to go to college to get a degree in a subject I feel passionate about; to completely master my passion, being able to pursue a career based on¬†my passion in the free market, the chance to fall in love with a woman that will make me feel better than I ever have before, and¬†the chance¬†to have kids that will change my perspective on everything and make me feel a dumbfounding amount of pride is absolutely incredible. I love him for giving it all¬†to me and I ask for no more… yet, the gifts keep on coming. I get to go to heaven and live in complete happiness forever for simply believing that he gave me all this and a chance to be with him.

God, you are a truely incredible God and I’ll see you up there. We’ll chill hard and drink soda and stuff. Until then, I’ll try to make you proud.