People who try to live like Christ frequently get caught up in the Commandments. They think that they've managed to accumulate quite a positive sum in their favor if they manage to keep the commandments some majority of the time. Perhaps that's why people look down on Christians so much, not just because they aren't very good at keeping the commandments, but because that's not actually the Christian way.
When Jesus was on the earth, He taught men and showed them what was required of them as his followers. He set the standard fairly early on on the Mount Beatitudes. The Beatitudes ought to be the highest guide to moral living because they were taught by Christ as the higher or new testament to His disciples and are hence infinitely more ‘christian’ edicts than the law given to Moses. Whereas the Commandments tell men what to avoid, the Beatitudes tell people how to be. It follows then that to really live like Christ means more than keeping the Ten Commandments- it means a great deal more.
A man who claims to follow Christ who adheres only to the Old Law of Moses is not really a good follower of Christ. Whereas the Commandments teach us how to avoid hell, the Beatitudes show us how to get into heaven. Just as avoiding a punishment is much different from receipt of a reward, one can avoid the devil without coming anywhere near the Savior, at least for now.
This is also the fallacy of the world at large. Whereas most people are focused on avoiding evil, very few focus on being and inviting good. It's why none of the utopian models of economics, politics, or even religion have succeeded. They are focused on avoiding excess and sin but not on the search for and acquisition of righteous traits. It is why all the Great Societys of modern America and Enlightenment Experiments of the pilgrims have failed to establish a utopia on earth. They tried to establish one without the assistance and substance of Heaven.
In order to establish any ideal society, it requires people to do what is right. Ideal societies focus on ideals and principles rather than on semblance and rhetoric. It is not enough to avoid what is wrong; to be ideal, to really be happy, you must also do what is right. Happiness is a fruit of the spirit. Don’t spend time trying to be happy or find happiness. The only way to truly be happy is to have the Spirit with you. That’s why happiness is linked to righteousness, because the longer and more purely we live in accordance with the gospel of Christ, the more frequently and deeply we will be able to enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost in our lives. The more we live like the Savior and "be" as He taught us, the happier we will be. While you might not be giddy and frolic and sing gaily the songs of yore, people will see when they look into your eyes that you are happy. When you live according to your beliefs and are true to yourself, it invites into your life the bliss that allows you to hold your head high, sleep well at night, and confidently choose. Then shall your confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and you will see the Savior as He is for you will be like Him, which is the point of all of His ministry. He came to make bad men good and good men better, and it's time we focused on being better by being what He taught on that Mount.
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