The genius of the Small Catechism

Luther used his explanation of the Ten Commandments in his Small Catechism to change the commandments into definitions of a Christian by making the "thou shalt not's" into definitions with his "yeahbuts."

Garrison Keillor frequently makes fun of us Lutherans, especially those from Minnesota. One of his schticks is about "yeahbuts", as in one Lutheran will say, "It's a beautiful day today," and the other Lutheran will say, "yeahbut, its gonna rain soon."

Luther's "yeahbuts" take the form


You shall not steal.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbour’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.


or

You shall not murder.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

For each commandment, Luther was saying, "of course Christians don't do those things which are prohibited, but we actively do those things which serve God and neighbor."