Thou shalt read this book … or perhaps not

Some Christians will have a hard time fully embracing Hal Urban’s “The 10 Commandments of Common Sense: Wisdom From the Scriptures for People of All Beliefs,” recently released in paperback.

Some won’t like the fact that Urban attends both Catholic and Protestant worship services. Others won’t be able to agree with his dislike of politics being preached from the pulpit. Then there’s the fact that he doesn’t like a preacher making disparaging remarks about another faith.

But for those who don’t take offense at the aforementioned, a great book awaits, one that can challenge a reader by offering practical wisdom based on scriptural teachings.

Urban breaks down his 10 commandments to two sets of five: Things you should avoid doing because they can hurt others or yourself, and things you should do because they can enrich others and yourself. Among the 10 are: not falling in love with possessions, not judging other people, having impeccable integrity and, perhaps the most important one, doing everything in love.

The commandments are not difficult concepts, but they are a challenge to fully embrace — especially, as Urban points out, the one about doing everything in love. He gives plenty of examples for the commandments based on his teaching career and his interactions with others.

The book certainly gives a reader much to ponder in today’s unsettled world. David Niven, the author of “The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People,” offers perhaps the best description of Urban’s book, calling it “simple but profound.” At the very least, “The 10 Commandments of Common Sense” is worth checking out, whether you fully agree with the author or not.