GOD’S MARRIAGE COVENANT – DON’T ELEVATE YOURSELF

“You shall not murder…” Exodus 20:13

On the surface this commandment simply says, “Don’t kill people.” This must have been a relief for the Israelites because, for the duration of their slavery in Egypt they could be killed, but God was telling them that they were to respect every person as made in the image of God.

There are two Hebrew words for “kill”; to take someone’s life on purpose and to take someone’s life by accident. To kill someone on purpose, you would have to develop a belief that you are above that person.  According to statistics, 1% of all murders are coldblooded; 99% of people are killed because of anger. Anger is a secondary and dangerous emotion.  Drunkenness and anger are the two main causes of murder.

When we are angry, the blood leaves our brain to prepare us for a fight, leaving most people in a state of being mentally depleted. Is it possible to make a good decision when you are angry?

What makes us journey from anger to contempt? When we allow ourselves to become angry and don’t resolve it, we begin to travel a road that ends in murder, first verbal and ultimately physical. The first step, called “the cold shoulder”, implies that our world would be better without you. This is how Jesus defined the start of the way that ends in murder (Matthew 5:20-22). It does not begin with the intent to take another person’s life. It begins with stripping the other person of their dignity, treating them with contempt. This type of contempt is all around us, sarcasm, bad humour, making fun of people, the cold shoulder. This commandment is about putting other people first.

In Matthew 5:27 Jesus deals with this. “Anger” here is a sustained feeling of anger. The word “raca” replicates the sound of someone who is about to spit, implying contempt. There is a progression in Jesus’ teaching.  Anger brings judgement; contempt will land you in the high court, but to say, “You fool” puts you in danger of the fires of hell. Jesus said, to call someone “Fool” is tantamount to murder in our heart by writing another person off as a morally debased person.

If something is true in your imagination, it might as well as be true. Once you want someone dead, or believe they are worthless or degrade them by slander or sarcasm, or make fun of them, you are guilty of murder.

This was a serious issue with Jesus’ religious opponents because they dismissed Him as Beelzebub, a Samaritan and demon-possessed, all of which were their way of showing contempt, the first step towards killing Him.

Matthew 5:23 – Jesus said, “Make it right before you offer your gift. You take the initiative if there is a problem between you and someone else.” We cannot create a culture that shows the world what God is like if we do not honour the image of God in every person. The key issue is that every person, whoever they are and however bad they are, matters.