Attitude’s the Thing – The Sixth Commandment

Attitude’s the Thing

Exodus 20:13

“You shall not murder.”

In any of its forms–from resentment and hate, to verbal abuse or physical violence–murder is evil.  We must guard our hearts against giving any place for murderous thoughts or affections, and we must fill our lives with the kind of practices that, by definition, leave no room for murder’s harmful ways.

Paul says we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by evil; rather, we must overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21).  If our attitude toward our neighbor is that we are determined to do good to him, by every means, at every opportunity, we will find that murder’s various forms simply have no room to operate in our regimen of practices.

By proactively reaching out to our neighbors with good works, to edify and encourage them, we keep murder in any of its forms from having a place in our lives.

Is there any room for murder to crop up in your life?  What good works might you put in place instead to crowd it out?

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.