Guard Your Heart – The Sixth Commandment

Guard Your Heart

The Sixth Commandment

Murder begins in the heart.

Leviticus 19:17, 18

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

Psalm 66:18; Matthew 5:21-24; Luke 6:27, 28; James 4:11, 12; 1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:15

Murder begins in the heart, when men fail to guard their affections. Hate is not a negative affection; it’s simply an affection, and it has its proper place in the divine economy (Ps. 97:10). But we must not hate our neighbor. Hate can lead to holding a grudge, which, in turn, can lead to seeking vengeance and, in the worst-case scenario, murder.

The way to combat hate is to “reason frankly” with our neighbors. When someone has offended against us, there is an appropriate recourse to take in seeking to make matters right. But at all times we must diligently guard our hearts against anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, or any other misguided affections. Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks, and out of the fullness of the heart we act toward others according to the affections reigning there. Guard your heart.

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