Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.The writer states that the Lord has demanded that his followers painstakingly keep his commandments.
~ King James version ~
Trying to live up to expectations -- internal or external -- tends to be a recipe for disaster.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
The problem with moral precepts is that we always try to find ways to satisfy our desires by stretching and bending those precepts to fit our needs. It becomes a game to see just how far we can push things to the very edge and, possibly, just a smidge beyond.
The Taoist sages encourage us to keep to the middle path and to avoid the extremes. This can be done easily when our thoughts and actions are focused on what needs to be done, not what we desire to be done.
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
"we always try to find ways to satisfy our desires by stretching and bending those precepts to fit our needs."
ReplyDeleteNot all of us...some of us practice discipline.
My mother probably undermined my young Christian faith by telling me the decalogue was a list of guidelines.
And don't forget, Aristotle says the same thing about that "middle path."