In case you haven’t heard, I have some AWESOME news to share! On April 20th, with a clear and hopeful outlook for society, families, and individuals, the Texas State Senate passed Bill 1515. This bill requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms. HOW AWESOME!
Let’s review how we got here, which begins forty-three years ago. In 1980, the US Supreme Court set the precedence for removing the Ten Commandments from public schools. At the time, this may not have seemed like a monumental catastrophe in the making. However, from our vantage point today, we are getting a first-hand look at the implications of having the timeless truth and wisdom of God’s Commandments being replaced with volumes of ever-changing moral relativism. Society has lost its way, forgotten the basic tenants of Christianity, and the foundational ethics and morals required for a nation to survive and prosper.
Full passage of this bill will be an important step toward restoring the truth and wisdom of the Ten Commandments. By restoring this simple list of the Ten Commandments, which are ten divine words of wisdom given to us by the Author of Truth, entire libraries of worldly laws become unnecessary. As God’s laws are restored in the hearts and minds of citizens, the evils and deceptions of moral relativism will become apparent.
Many claim that putting the Ten Commandments in schools or government buildings violates the “Separation of Church and State.” But that concept is NOT in the Constitution. Rather, it was a concept written in a letter by Thomas Jefferson, who was deeply hostile to organized religion. Many anti-Catholics ran with the idea, but it was contrary to the Founding Fathers’ intentions and was the opposite of why the pilgrims & other early immigrants came to this land – which was to flee religious persecution! Our nation’s founding documents and America’s success were rooted on the wisdom of the Ten Commandments and Judeo-Christian teachings. Yet today, many can’t see past their own nose to see how our nation’s Christian beginnings deserve the credit for our nation’s prosperity. Or even worse, it is their agenda to destroy it. Christianity and the Ten Commandments are not the problem they are made out to be. They are the solution!
The Texas bill still needs to be passed by the Texas House of Representatives. If it passes, the school children will learn that there a much better option for getting along in life than what they have been learning from the TV shows they watch, the music they listen to, and the social media that breeds anger and division. Furthermore, with the Ten Commandments visible to them every day, they will get a glimpse of the Divine Author and come to know His goodness.
Displaying the Ten Commandments in the classrooms is a giant step in the right direction. Once that step is taken, the next step is to bring the Commandments to life by explaining how they are our Creator’s divine plan to discover the abundant joy and authentic freedom we want for ourselves and the children in our lives.
The timing of this bill in Texas coincides with the launching of a new program that we have been developing here at If U Love Me, which is fully supported by our beloved Bishop James V. Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The program is called God’s Recipe for School and Family: Learning and Living the Ten Commandments, whereby we provide plaques of the Ten Commandments in all the Catholic school classrooms. The program also includes a Ten Commandments Family Kit for all the school families to learn the Commandments at home, understand them, and put them into practice in their daily lives.
As you can imagine, getting this bill approved by the Texas House and implemented throughout the state, will encounter considerable opposition. You may be asking yourself, why does this matter to me and what can I do to help its passage? If you are disgusted by the chaos and confusion you see on the news every day and if you hope that the children in your life can experience a world of harmony and joy, the passage of this bill matters greatly. Furthermore, here are some realistic measures YOU CAN TAKE to help make this bill a law.
Individually, it is easy to feel we can’t make a difference. However, TOGETHER and with the Holy Spirit, we can make positive change to our broken culture. But it takes perseverance, patience, and most of all prayer! I hope you will join me and our team here at If U Love Me in restoring the truth and wisdom of the Ten Commandments to make our world a much better one for us today and for future generations.
Make it a joy-filled day!
Ed Van Buskirk
Executive Director
IfULoveMe.org
Restoring Truth in a World of Confusion
To dive deeper in your knowledge of learning and living the 10 Commandments on a daily basis in order to experience true joy and freedom, visit our 10 Commandments Page that corresponds to each of the 10 Commandments.
God’s Recipe for a Wonderful Life is now on the Catholic Radio Network! Tune in each Sunday at 8am Central Time to hear how the Commandments are God’s solution to the chaos & confusion of our world!
