1. I am the Lord your God. Recognize that stuff isn’t going to make you happy, but faith in whatever it is you believe in, love, and understanding are what’s important. The iPhone can wait.
2. You Shall Have No Other Gods Before You. That Wii may be cool, but making it the focal point of your life isn’t doing anyone any good. Get yourself out into nature for a few minutes. Play with your kids. Read a book.
3. You Shall Not Make Wrongful Use of the Name of Your God. As in “So help me God, I’ll kill you if you don’t let go of that Suzie Barfs-A-Lot Doll.” That’s just not neighborly.
4. Remember the Sabbath and Keep It Holy. A stretch on this one, but maybe we could all take a day or two off each week from consuming and do some good instead? Just a thought.
5. Honor Your Mother and Father. Ask yourself “Would my parents be proud of how I’m acting?”
6. You Shall Not Murder. Ya see, it doesn’t say, “unless something is 20 percent below cost,” it just says don’t do it. Simple.
7. You shall not commit adultery. Not touching that one (pun intended).
8. You Shall Not Steal. Let that little girl have the doll she’s holding. Sure you’re bigger and can take it before her mommy sees, but come on.
9. You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor. All right, this one doesn’t work so much, but it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on, no?
10. You Shall Not Covet Anything That Belongs To Your Neighbor. Simply put, let the Joneses be the Joneses and let the Smiths be the Smiths. The things that you have that are important can’t be bought and can’t be sold. They are learned and passed along from one generation to the next. Take a look at who you are, and stop worrying about everyone else.
Bottom line is this: We all need to wake up and recognized that we are being played. Somehow we’ve bought into this notion that owning bigger and better stuff makes us bigger and better people. When in fact it makes us shallower and hollower. Last Friday proved that quite well. So here’s to next Back Friday when the stores are empty, the aisles deserted, and everyone is home with their families having made a decision about what is truly important, and acted upon it.