Guard Against Hate – The Sixth Commandment

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Guard Against Hate

Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17

“You shall not murder.”

Leviticus 19:17

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

Murder begins in the heart.

Jesus warned us that anger is akin to murder (Matt. 5.21, 22). This is because murder begins in the heart, where resentment, anger, jealousy, and hatred overwhelm sound reason, numb the conscience, and lead to practices that can be contrary to the love of God, and even violent. Murder, according to the Law of God, is more than just taking the life of another person willfully, unlawfully, and with premeditation. Murder is an attitude that disrupts and impedes the love of God we owe to our neighbors. Whenever we feel anger beginning to rise, we must turn to one or more of the various antidotes to murder that God prescribes. Like talking with our neighbor, reasoning frankly but respectfully concerning whatever it is that has caused us to become so upset. Talking about such matters can help to correct misconceptions and misunderstandings, bring to the surface unrecognized sins, and keep the channels of communication open. How much better to risk the difficulty of honest conversation than the sin of unbridled anger? All sin begins in the heart. God knows this, and He also knows that we may fail to remember this. So He tells us, in clear and unequivocal terms, how we must keep our heart in check, and why.

What kinds of things cause you to become angry? Has your anger ever led you to actions you regret?

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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.

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