Thou shalt not kill

 On the weekend that Israel was poised on the border with Gaza, following a week of bloodshed and trauma and talk of vengeance, a Methodist minister friend of mine told me that in his sermon series on the ten commandments he just happened to be on number 6.  Thou shalt not kill.  Or better translated, You must not murder. Murder being the unlawful taking of the life of a fellow human being.

My heart went out to my friend Jonathan.  Of all the times to be speaking about killing - the weekend when the world seemed to  be teetering on the edge of not just a Middle Eastern war, but quite possibly a world war.  Passions were running high.  Hamas had slaughtered innocents.  Israel had retaliated with bombs on overcrowded civilian neighbourhoods.  Everyone everywhere was talking about whether, and to what extent, we can defend ourselves from violence, take action to eradicate our enemies, avenge ourselves for our losses.  That week we all heard lots of voices from both sides. 

And God says ' You shall not,  you must not, you cannot commit murder' (Ex 20;13)

I think up until my chat with Jonathan I had always looked on the commandment as being about victims.  You shouldn't kill people because people are made in the image of God. Because God is the only one who should decide when a life ends.   Because life is sacred and every person who is killed is someone who quite possibly has never heard about or accepted Jesus and therefore we are condemning them to hell.

But...... as happens quite regularly these days, as I was thinking about the commandment I thought I aready understood, God showed me something different.  (You all probably know this already - but Ill tell you anyway just in case 😀 )  What if the directive not to murder is nothing much to do with the victim and everything to do with the perpetrator?

God says don't kill because He knows exactly what happens in a person's soul and spirit when they become so filled with hatred or anger or jealousy or greed that they become murderous.  God knows the damage that is done eternally when we execute vengeance.  The life that is taken was always finite. Everyone is going to die and their destiny is in God's hands.  But the one who murders has made a choice which will have eternal consequences. And immediate consequences too.  God doesnt want the mental, emotional and spiritual torment that murdering someone must bring.  He also doesnt want people incarcerated - He is the God who came to set prisoners free.  He really doesnt like imprisonment. 

Amazingly, God's heart might just be for the murderers.  Or the potential murderers. Which I guess is all of us.  And just like with the other commandments there is a huge concern in God's heart as He sets out His rules for living.  Don't do things which will ultimately damage you.  Adultery will damage you. Jealousy will damage you.  Not keeping the Sabbath day will damage you. The commandments are there for our own good.  And the effect of keeping them then radiates out into society and causes us to live as God ordains.  Well, relationally. peaceably, righteously, and in communion with Him.

Of course Jesus came and took it even further.  Don't be angry, dont think violent thoughts, because these attitudes breed murder and these thought processes arent good for us.  Anger makes us depressed. Jealousy destroys relationship. Greed takes our focus off God.