A mother and her two small boys were having a serious discussion about stealing and why it was wrong. “Tell me,” she said, “Why do you think stealing is wrong?”

Five-year-old Luke said that stealing was against God’s laws. He had learned about the Ten Commandments in Sunday school.

Mother asked the boys if they knew any of the other Ten Commandments. Luke remembered two others: “You shall not murder,” and “Honor your father and mother.” But the boys couldn’t think of any other commandments, until little Patrick piped up, “I know one: “Pick up your toys!”

Well, that commandment ought to be in there if it is not.

The Ten Commandments have traditionally been difficult to translate into the language of children. A third grade Sunday school teacher was particularly uneasy about the lesson, …