We don’t often think of there being commandments in the New Testament but there are more than I realized. If you search the word “be” you will discover that there are twenty-eight commandments beginning with “be.” For example …

Rom 16:19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ESV 

Or Be merciful, Be ready, Be of good cheer… They are all in the imperative and are therefore Commands. But one of them that struck me as standing out comes in the book of Hebrews. And while the majority of us are not Hebrews, the command is a strong call to us as the bride of Christ. It is a command that is desperately needed in America today. What a difference it would make if it was obeyed across the land.

 Heb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ESV

There is a cartoon out there that truly illustrates America today. It pictures a couple in the kitchen and one says to the other: You are not content with trying to keep up with the Joneses. You want to be the Joneses whom everyone else is trying to keep up with. Sadly there is more truth there than meets the eye and it certainly flies in the face of Hebrews 13:5. Consider several other examples that we might tend to gloss over:

• James 1:22 Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only
• 1 Peter 1:16 Be holy for I am holy
• Revelation 2:10 Be faithful unto death

All twenty-eight of these commands are imperative, vitally important, crucial, and require immediate action as they set forth the way a believer should walk with God.

We should all take some time and ask the Lord to search our hearts, to know our thoughts, to try us, and discover any place where we are being disobedient. I found out that these verses tend to uncover and illuminate some shadowy places that need my attention and I doubt I am alone.