“The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love thy neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.” (Romans 13:9+10/NIV).

You cannot really say you love somebody and at the same time contemplate to kill or slander that person. You cannot claim to be a good Christian fulfilling the commandment of love while at the same time stealing and coveting from another.

I do not know about your church background or religious upbringing. In the Lutheran church in early teenage years we were taught the Ten Commandments as well as the Apostolic Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

The Ten Commandments have played an important role in Christian countries. These are fundamentals to the Christian faith. Even today these commandments are held in high esteem as they regulate how we are to treat and to respect each other.

There have been changes though as to how Christian or secular societies are dealing with violations of these commandments. Today in Germany as in other Western countries we have liberal laws as far as adultery and divorce are concerned. These days it is allowed and not that difficult to get divorced.

“Do not commit adultery.” Are we to forget about this commandment? I believe we shouldn’t.

We should love and respect others. This means a loving man or woman must not attract and take away someone else’s wife or husband.

Life within our societies remains somewhat pleasant as long as we respect the trusted relationships of others. It is far more difficult to cope with being robbed of a spouse than having one’s car stolen.

Love means giving others a chance to live a peaceful and happy life. Love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but it rejoiceth in the truth.”