Quit while you are ahead is good advice especially for people stirring the word command into their positive thinking recipe. More precisely covenant is so far removed from what God wants it is amazing that people still think of Christ’s mission as being a covenant into which we enter with him: him and us having our assignments. We do this even after we say we have considered the history and success of covenants, especially the Sinai (Old or First) Covenant. The Lord has seen fit to establish the Messianic Grace Covenant apart from the terms and processes of Sinai. Sinai contains nine prohibitions and one injunction – honour your parents. The source for positive thinking is neither Moses, nor Solomon so be prepaed to defend the ragged, rugged rage of self-righteousness.

The Ten Commandments are not Positive

Instead of riches from God’s eternal treasury we find ourselevs trying to reinvent the joy of salvation, the success of the covenant, and the guarantee of promised inheritance. It is all rags. The Book of Proverbs has 46 negative commands (AL +VERB). That amounts for 1.48 commands per chapter, (148%), more of the same type than Exodus (8 hits, 20%) or Leviticus (7 hits, 25%).

Try as we might, every day has evil that touches us – unless we are cloistered behind walls of seld-denial and sectarian indoctrination. We cannot think away the events and conditions that God has designated to bring us to stabler lives and maturity. We should not be surprised that Solomon conducted his life opposite his voluminous warnings and commands. The Law of Moses served a Covenant – not God’s will. God’s will demanded a body, a spotless body, and ending one or many behaviours does not make any human a candidate for doing God’s will. There is no need to be angry with God, sinners, or yourself. God has forgiven you everything.

Remember Mary of Magdala, how she was denonized repeatedly, but kept coming to the Anointed, who honoured her with making her the first to see him glorified and made her the first bearer of resureection good news to the disciples.