MOM: Don't walk, merge right, no right turn on red...

DAD: Dear, what in the world has happened to you? That's crazy talking.

MOM: I was just thinking out loud. You see those phrases all the time, don't you?

DAD: Yes, I suppose so. But what does all this have to do with anything?

MOM: Well, these are just a few examples of the instructions and commands that we follow, often without even thinking? Others I can call to mind are; Refrigerate after opening, shake before using, tear here to open, watch your step, place first-class postage here.

DAD: Where I came from we call these instructions and commands, precepts. Precepts are all around us.

MOM: Yes and most of the time they're pretty painless.

DAD: God has given us precepts as well.

MOM: And we usually call them commandments.

DAD: Right. He has told us, "Do not worship any other gods besides me. Do not steal. Do not lie. Love one another.

MOM: Those are just a few of the precepts, commandments, that God gives us in the Bible.

DAD: The Jews by tradition maintains that God gave 624 specific commands.

MOM: But you know, God has communicated a lot about Himself through those precepts. His commands reveal what He likes, what He doesn't like, what He says is good or bad.

DAD: And the precepts of the Lord are not just a bunch of do's and don'ts, they show us what principles God values.

MOM: Principles help explain the why behind a command.

DAD: A reverence for life is behind the command "do not kill". And the command "do not give false testimony" has as its princile, honesty.

MOM: But if you really want to know right from wrong, you must look beyond the precept, beyond the principle, to the person of God.

DAD: Yes, His very nature defines right from wrong. The reason honesty is right and lying is wrong is that God is truth.

MOM: The reason love is right and hatred is wrong is because God is love.

DAD: Wow, mom, I think you have really hit on it. We need to remember Who God is and what His nature is. See you everybody. (mom says goodbye too)