Thou shalt not?

A friend of mine described a snippet of a conversation with a church-going, professing- Christian neighbor. The neighbor actually chided my friend for being so naive as to believe that the 10 Commandments were meant to be obeyed all the time.

You mean they're not? You mean we get a pass some of the time? We can pick and choose appropriate times to be obedient? We can decide which are the suggestions and which are the commandments? Wow! What a deal!

Just exactly what does, "Thou shalt..." and "Thou shalt not...", mean? Jesus said it perfectly and clearly, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments....If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." -John 14:15, 23-24

Doesn't seem to leave much wiggle room--does it?