The Ten Commandments and Freedom Grade 4: Unit 4

Lesson 1: Exploring our God-Given Freedom with Sacred Art

Basic Components of Covenants The essential elements of a covenant can be seen in the story of Moses. God’s covenants with man are great signs of His mercy toward us. All God’s covenants with man have basic components: A covenant mediator; in this case, it is Moses. As such he is the intercessory figure between the Chosen People and God. Promises that accompany the covenant; in this case, it is the Promised Land of milk and honey.

Basic Components of Covenants Terms of the covenant; in this case, there are the Ten Commandments written by God and given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The sign by with the covenant is remembered; in this case, it is the Passover meal. The type of family that God has a result of the covenant; in this case, it is the nation of Israel.

Lesson 2: Does “Freedom” Mean Doing Whatever We Want, Wherever We Want?

Freedom The world’s definition of freedom is something similar to “Having no restraints,” or “Following your feelings,” or “Doing whatever you want to do: The true meaning of freedom is the ability to choose one’s actions and direct them toward God. For example: If you goof off rather than study, you’ll do poorly in school and have less freedom in your career choices. If you never exercise, your body will be weak and you’ll have less freedom to play sports, do physical activities, and so forth. If you take drugs, your body will begin to want more drugs. Abusing your body with drugs leads to addiction and less freedom. If you take out loans to buy things you don’t need, you’ll go into debt. Spending without limits leads to slavery to debt and less freedom.

Freedom First, if you always let your feelings guide your decisions, you will become a slave to your feelings (less freedom). Secondly, the more you practice a certain skill, the easier and more enjoyable it becomes. True freedom is the same way. The more we use our freedom well, the freer we become. For example: If you study and do well in school, you can learn more. Learning will become easier, and you will have more freedom in your career choices. If you exercise and eat well, your body will be healthy. You will enjoy healthful foods more and have more freedom to do the physical activities you want to do.

Freedom Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” -St. John Paul II

Lesson 3: The Ten Commandments: Why Did God Give Us the Ten Commandments?

Life Requires Rules The gift of life is always immediately followed by the gift of rules. Freedom, or new life, requires rules in order to remain in that freedom or new life. The Ten Commandments tell us what we need to do to love God and love our neighbor. The first three commandments are about love of God, and the other seven are about love of our neighbor.

Lesson 4: The Ten Commandments: The First through Third Commandments

Living according to the Gift of the Commandments The gift of the Commandments and of the Law is part of the covenant God sealed with His Chosen People. God took the initiative to give His people the Ten Commandments. Living a moral life by keeping the commandments is our response to God. The Ten Commandments are the Law of God, but “it is in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ that their full meaning will be revealed” (CCC 2056). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shows us what it really means to live the Ten Commandments. Through Him, we can be freed from slavery to sin just as the Israelites were freed from slavery.

Lesson 5: The Ten Commandments: The Fourth through Tenth Commandments

Following God’s Commandments: True Love The first three commandments teach us about loving God. The 4th through 10th Commandments teach us to love our neighbor. Although the Ten Commandments were divinely revealed, they can be known to us through the use of our reason. No one can deny their truth.

Following God’s Commandments: True Love Many of the Commandments are “negative” — many are about what not to do. These are foundational and serious rules that all Christians must follow. Jesus, through His example and His words, turns the Commandments (many of which are “do not” statements) into positive statements. Throughout the Gospels, He teaches us that being a Christian is not just about following rules, but about true love. Christianity is about giving all to God, family, and friends. If we follow Jesus, we know we will be on the right path.

Lesson 6: The Two Greatest Commandments

Jesus Gave Us the Greatest Commandments Read Matthew 22:34-40 As Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — contain many of the same stories. Synoptic may be a strange-sounding word, but the root “optic” means relating to the eyes (as in optometrist, optical illusion, and so forth) and the prefix “syn” means “same” (synonym, synchronize, and so forth). The Synoptic Gospel authors show us the same moments from Jesus’ life on Earth. They help us “see” Him with the “same eyes.” Read Mark 12:28-34.

Jesus Gave Us the Greatest Commandments Read Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Jesus was not only quoting Scripture when He gave us the two Great Commandments but was also offering us a way of understanding the Ten Commandments.

Lesson 7: The New Commandments

Jesus Shows Us True Love The world often uses a term differently from the way our Lord uses it. This is the case with the word love. If we want to get closer to following God’s will in our lives, one thing we can do is try to understand more fully the teachings He has given us in Scripture in light of Church teaching. “Love one another as I love you.” Jesus tells us to love each other in a very specific way. He says we should love one another the way He has loved us. If we want to know what love is, we have to find out how Jesus has loved us.

Jesus Shows Us True Love Jesus tells us that He is the example of what it means to love someone. Jesus’ entire mission was based on giving Himself to others for their good. This is the fundamental definition of love. Read John 13:34-35:

Lesson 8: “Rules, Rules, Rules!”

Real Love is Free Good parents do not deny their offspring the ability to be what they were created to be in a vain attempt to save them from getting hurt. God, like a loving parent, wants us to be who we were meant to be. He wants us to use our intellects and wills and to love each other the way He has loved us. Love is not love if it is forced. God forces no one to love Him.

We Are Made To Be Holy Humans were created to be to be like God. Another word for that is holy. How do we become holy? Through virtue and making moral choices. A bird knows how to fly but needs practice to be able to do it well. We now how to make choices and exert our will as soon as we are born. Think of your younger siblings who know exactly what they want, and they want it right now! So we need to learn how to think, choose, and love well to keep from getting hurt by sin. Good parents don’t want their children to get hurt, but rather than cut off their ability to be who they are, they help them learn to do what they need to do.

Holiness Leads to Real Happiness Sinful behavior is often tempting because it seems to promise us the pleasure of something we want right now. In the long term, however, sin damages us and makes us unhappy. God knows our hearts and what we need to be happy. If we trust in Him and cooperate with His grace, we will be free to become what we were made to be: holy.

Lesson 9: Freedom and Happiness Come from Following Jesus’ Law of Love

Real Justice, Real Freedom Justice is “the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor” (1807). We know what “their due” is, because God has commanded us to love Him above all and to love one another as He has loved us. “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’” -CCC 1733

Lesson 10: Obedience and Happiness

Happiness: Obeying God If you love someone, you want him or her to be safe and happy. This is how God feels about us. Sin hurts us and makes us sad. When He created us, He told us what we need to do in order to be happy and avoid wounding ourselves. But, as far back as Adam and Eve, we have had trouble obeying. We often feel that rules tie us down. But the truth is, God’s rules free us — they free us to choose good and avoid evil, so we can be truly happy. The root word of obedience comes from a word that means “to hear or listen to.” The first step in obeying is to hear or listen to what we are told.

Mary: Perfect Obedience Read Luke 1:26-38, 46-49. The Church calls Mary the “New Eve” because of her free cooperation with God’s plan. To live a life of true happiness, each person must strive to hear God’s will and live it every day. We can look to Mary and other people in the Bible, such as Abraham, for guidance and inspiration. We all have a mission from God: to follow Him and to keep His commandments. Our missions will not be as dramatic as being the Mother of the Son of God, but we have the same choice: whether to cooperate with God’s grace or to disobey Him.

Mary: Perfect Obedience “By her conduct, Mary reminds each of us of our serious responsibility to accept God’s plan for our lives. In total obedience to the saving will of God expressed in the angel’s words, she becomes a model for those whom the Lord proclaims blessed, because they “hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). Jesus, in answering the woman in the crowd who proclaimed his mother blessed, discloses the true reason for Mary’s blessedness: her adherence to God’s will, which led her to accept the divine motherhood.” — St. Pope John Paul II

Lesson 11: God Has Shown Us How to Be Happy

God Wants Us to Be Happy Our sins weighs us down and limits our actions. Just as a reinforced habit is easier to do, it is also that much more difficult to break free of. Some actions seem to bring instant gratification, but the long-term consequences of these actions ultimately do not provide freedom.

God Wants Us to Be Happy God wants us to form good habits so that doing good will come more easily and we will be able to grow closer to Him. Everything in the Bible that happens after the Fall reveals God’s love for mankind and His desire that we return to Him. God gave people rules to protect their dignity from the snare of sin and to empower them to love God and others.