One for each finger;
a handy teaching aid for children
as we seek for them to remember the law.
A set of rules for right living? Hardly.
More like a list of instructions
designed to avoid the worst consequences
of human greed and fear. A reminder
that our fellow humans also have the right
to be accorded dignity and respect.
‘Thou shalt not –‘ . . .
Compile your own catalogue of boundaries,
the transgressing of which will rapidly
bring an end to expectations
of neighbourly cooperation and peaceful living.
These ten represent the merest minimum
of what is required.
As the Teacher said,
what we really need is generosity,
grace and love. These three elevate us
and determinedly carry us
way beyond mere proscriptions
to the full and rich possibilities of life
as it was always intended to be.
Ken Rookes
No comments:
Post a Comment