WHEN I WAS A KID, I REMEMBER LEARNING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in my Protestant Sunday School class. The church I grew up in stressed the importance of the Commandments, and when my teacher told me I must love God more than anyone or anything, I just knew I was a sinner. "More than my parents?" I asked. "Yes. More than your parents." How could I ever be a good Christian, I wondered. I could never love anyone more than my parents.
Later, of course, I learned just what loving God meant. Putting God first didn't mean I had to love my parents less. Loving God actually got much easier—in fact, I discovered that the more I loved God, the more I could easily love others—joyfully and abundantly. But what about those other nine Commandments? OK, I never felt tempted to kill anybody. But the others—not so easy, right?
How about never "coveting"? Or never telling a lie? Again, I remember challenging my Sunday School teacher: "But what if you ask me if I like your new hairdo, and I don't? Should I tell the truth?" Well, in retrospect, navigating those shoals seems pretty tame today. Because life got a lot more complex, and like most people, I've had to steer my way through sometimes foggy, confusing situations and learn to balance my life as best I can on the rock-solid foundation of God's laws. But I'm grateful that no matter how confused I might get, Christian Science always shows me the way back—to salvation.
