Beginning in the Heart – The Kingdom Curriculum X (1)

Beginning in the Heart

The Kingdom Curriculum X (1)

“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17

“But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him fatally so that he dies…” Deuteronomy 19:11

Murder Happens by Degrees.

God alone is the Lord of life. He gives it, He takes it away, and only He is able to define the proper circumstances under which one human may deprive another of his life. But murder is not always a physical act, and especially in the first instance,

The sixth commandment may seem far from all of us, until we realize that murder begins in the heart, with an attitude of hatred, vengefulness, or ill-will. As Jesus pointed out (Mt. 5:21, 22), to allow hatred to fester in your soul is to be guilty of murder, just as surely as if you had taken another person’s life. The warning of God’s Word is that we need to check murder at its first appearing, and that’s usually in the form of some affection – anger, resentment, irritation, jealousy, and the like, something that originates in the heart. We don’t need to see the whole orb in order to know, as the sun’s rays begin peaking over the morning horizon, that more heat and light are soon to follow. The same is true with murder and the affections that portend it.

The presence of such affections should be heeded like a warning shot across the bow of our souls. If we ignore or continue to harbor them, we will lose contact with the Lord (Ps. 66:18), and when contact with the Lord is lost, all restraint on sin is in jeopardy. What begins as anger or resentment can mature, by degrees, to become hurtful words, harmful deeds, or worse. We must not allow murderous affections to find any welcome in our hearts.

Whenever you sense that such a sentiment or attitude has taken up residence in some room in your soul, it’s time to bring out the eviction notice and, through prayer and penance, throw this unwanted tenant out on the street. If you don’t, while you may not actually murder someone, you can bet that nasty guest will make his presence known in some way that will benefit neither you nor others.

The Apostle John taught that those who would follow Jesus must walk in the commandments of God (1 John 2:1-6). Order your copy of The Law of God by going to www.MyParuchia.com and clicking on Publications, Waxed Tablet. Begin meditating on God’s Law today.

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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.