Ten Commandments
Part 11
Commandment # 5 (Protestant 6) “You shall not kill.” Part 1
This command forbids the intentional
destruction of human life. There are two
Hebrew words that are translated kill.
The one used in the Ten Commandments can be better translated
“murder.” This is the intent of the
commandment. The Hebrew word is the same
word that is translated “murder” in the establishing of the cities of refuge
(Numbers 35:9-21.) In that passage the
distinction is made between the person who unintentionally kills another and
one who intentionally kills another person.
While there is refuge for the person who commits manslaughter, there is
no refuge for the person who commits murder (Exodus 21:14.)
Murder is taken very seriously in
Scripture because we are created in the image of God. “To
slaughter a man is to stab God in effigy”[1] Murder violates the command of Jesus to “love
one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
He says that the causes and occasions for murder are just as sinful as
the act itself (Matthew 5:21-22).
While
most people never find themselves guilty of deliberately taking the life of
another, we can easily fall prey to lesser forms of murder. We can murder psychologically or
emotionally. Every so often we hear of a
teenager who has committed suicide because of derogatory comments about her on Facebook
or Twitter. We can murder another in his
name through slander, character assassination or gossip. This can be extremely damaging to the
person. We can deliberately injure a
person, short of murder, so that her life is damaged for the rest of her
life. We can murder another in his
livelihood through manipulating his career path. In the politically correct world in which we
live many people have had their careers killed because they held different
viewpoints. We can even kill a person’s
spirit by depreciating, belittling them to the point where they lose all
hope. One way this often occurs is through bullying.
Jesus
blows this commandment wide open. He
says that anger is liable to judgment (Matthew 5:21-22). In his eyes, anger is
as bad as murder. He reminds us that the
heart is the seat of decision making and action. With this in mind, it has been
said that there are eleven ways of murdering a person.
1.
With the
hand. It is possible to kill a person
with the bare hand. More likely the hand
is holding something (a gun, knife, bat, etc.)
It is the intentionality that makes it murder. Putting something in the hand to harm another
is an intentional act.
2.
With the
mind. This often involves malice or
maligning someone and wishing evil against them. Whatever one thinks of President Trump, many
were guilty of maligning him with malice.
3.
With the
tongue. This is usually done through
gossip or slander. The story is told of
a Medieval woman who had a problem with gossip.
She confessed this to her priest who told her to come back with a
feather pillow. He told her to rip the
pillow open, letting the feathers to be scattered by the wind. He then told her to put all the feathers back
into the pillow. When she protested that
it was impossible, he replied “so is undoing your gossip.” The relationship between the person who receives
the gossip and the person of who receives the brunt of the gossip is often
damaged and can be destroyed. The
effects of slander will be dealt with on the commandment against false witness.
4.
With the
pen. Writing untruth about another
person can be a form of character assassination. Once it is printed or posted on the internet,
it can be widely distributed and very difficult to retract.
5.
With your own
life. We can corrupt others by our own
bad examples. How we live our lives
greatly impact the lives of others. Our
not living morally upright lives can lead others into a life of sin. Jesus said in Mark 9:42 that is was better to
die than to cause another, especially a child, to sin.
6.
With the
intention to kill. Anything we do in
which the intended outcome is death, whether it occurs or not, is a violation
of this commandment.
7.
With a lack of
mercy. When we are unmerciful, we can
take away or refuse to allow that which supports life. This is often seen in lack of care for the
poor.
8.
By plotting
against another. This can be physical or
emotional. It may begin with contriving
to cause some form of injury. Over time
it can lead to death. Occasionally there
are articles in the news about a teenager who commits suicide because of all of
the ugly comments and bullying by several people that he/she receives on
facebook and twitter, or in person.
9.
Consenting to
another’s death. We see this in the book
of Acts when Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death (Acts 7:58).
10. Refusing to hinder another’s death. This is especially so when we have the power
to intercede for the other person’s life.
11. By seeking our advantage to another’s detriment. Often forms of manipulation, belittlement,
etc. are involved here. It includes
advancing our own career by defaming a co-worker.
Food for thought
1. Do I find myself guilty of any of the 11 ways to murder?
[1]
Ezekiel Hopkins, The Works of Ezekiel
Hopkins: First American Edition, Vol 1, (Philadelphia:The Leighton
Publications, 1863), 471
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