Are You A Murderer?

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, "Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment." But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. -Matthew 5:21–24

I was listening to a radio talk show a couple of years ago and the topic was morality and the 10 Commandments. The basic point of the show was that if people actually obeyed The 10 Commandments, our society would be a far better place. At one point, a caller brought up Jesus' words about murder from the Sermon on the Mount (as were his words about adultery which follow). The host emphatically made the point that Jesus was obviously using hyperbole and could not really mean that God would hold people who had inappropriate anger accountable in the same way as he did murderers. Such a view was ridiculous and extreme, he said, because it raised matters of thought, heart and feeling to the same level of actions. "Actions," he said, "we can control, thoughts and feelings we cannot." "God cannot hold us accountable for our thoughts and feelings, that would not be fair," he concluded.

His conclusion made me sad, because it demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the beauty and the fullness of the good news of Jesus. The radio guy was right, actions we can control (or try to). If we are only accountable for our actions, we are in control of our own salvation and our own goodness. If, on the other hand we responsible to God for all of our errant thoughts, feelings and desires in the same way as if they were played out in reality, then all we can do is throw up our hands and say "I can't do that." And Jesus says, "exactly." "Welcome." "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Come to me with your actions and your thoughts, your deeds and your desires, and I will change transform them all." I have the power to do it, you do not." I am convinced that it is only when we come to the point of actually surrendering all of ourselves to God that we can truly be free to actually live in the life that we were meant to live and free to help create a better world in which to live it.

Author Esther Elizabeth writes, "When we let go of hatred, prejudices, arrogance and entitlement from the heart, our actions change. We love, forgive and hope from the heart, and from there our world changes. So I offer this prayer for us: 'Holy One, we give you permission to carve away all that is not pure in our hearts. We invite you to create space in our crowded hearts for you to dwell. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. We ask you to align our priorities with yours, and awaken our hearts from their sleep.'"

That is my prayer as well.