Nothing is Set in Stone

She said it jokingly but it was no joke. She would die if she missed the gym one day. Seven days a week, two hours a day, that was her routine. And it wasn’t optional. It was more than a priority, it was the priority and she worked the rest of her schedule around it. She was in great physical shape but clearly it came at quite an expense. She claimed to be happy and feel wonderful, and yet, she simultaneously stated she couldn’t live without this routine. Of course I knew she was speaking in hyperbole, but I think it was more accurate than even she would have wanted to admit. Her own words were that the gym was her life. But I would take it one step further. I think the gym was her idol.

Looking at our own situations, what are the things that we need to be happy? Successful? Fulfilled? Maybe it is our career. Or financial success. Perhaps having the latest gadgets or the hottest trends?

When it comes to idolatry one may think of some stone statue that is considered a deity. But it is so much more. Anything we make essential to our sense of self we risk turning into an idol. And while idolatry and slavery may not automatically be linked, they really are. For if we make something into an idol, then we become enslaved to it. We even use this very language, ‘a slave to one’s job.’ Whatever it is, it becomes the priority in life. It becomes what gives us strength, meaning and purpose. Ultimately, it becomes a god.

In Part 1 we discussed how the First Commandment is not really a commandment but a statement. And yet, it is a prerequisite to the ones that follow. We also discussed how no one escapes Egypt. Come commandment #2 and it is stating that we must not have any other gods. And the commandment continues by implying that  our Creator doesn’t want us to have other gods for His sake. After all, He is described as a “jealous God.” Yet, there is a deeper level which is that He doesn’t want us having any other gods for our sake, for when we do we put ourselves into Egypt. We unintentionally enter a state of slavery that we may not have the strength to get out of. (Though fortunately the First Commandment also reminds us that when we find ourselves in Egypt, He will take us out…).

This second commandment can be read a bit differently thus providing another vital message. The commandment reads “You shall not make for yourself a graven image” which Chassidic philosophy explains can be read to state that we should not make ourselves into a graven image. Meaning, we should not feel that who we are is set in stone.

We are constantly changing. Things can shift at any moment. To make ourselves into an idol means to feel that how we are today is how we will always be. And this is problematic if things are great or if they are in a negative space. When things are going well we want to be grateful and aware that it is a gift. Ironically, when we are most blessed it can be easy to feel it is because of our own doing. Because I worked hard and invested so much energy I got the promotion and am making enough money to buy the things I like, etc. On the flip side, when things are hard and challenging we could feel that we have been forgotten about and that we are simply unlucky and stuck in a rut in life.

But when we believe that no matter what position we find ourselves in there is a reason we are there and there is work to be done, then what we have or lack does not define us but rather becomes tools for self development.

We are never stuck. Not in Egypt and not in stone. Things can and will always shift and there is no thing that defines who we are. And when we recognize that our true happiness, success and fulfillment come from within and how we impact those around us, then we are able to break out of any self or other imposed limitations and truly experience freedom.

In Part Three we will discuss our obligation to use our unique talents and abilities.

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/the-ten-commandments-in-our-lives-part-3/

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/the-ten-commandments-in-our-lives-part-1/

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