The Process of Murder

"'You shall not murder.'"
Deuteronomy 5:17 ESVST
 
That's rather direct. When something is this clear, there should be no questions, because there can be nothing to question. The fact that God felt it necessary to tell us this tells us something about us and our capabilities. We are capable of doing terrible things to one another in order to make life the way we want it for ourselves.
 
Throughout history, people have killed those who they thought were wrong, thinking the wrong would go away. It did not work. Jesus was crucified, and that opened the door to the religious community's problems instead of solving them. Stephen was stoned; it did not work. The disciples were persecuted and killed, and their message lives on.
 
Jesus, in the book of Matthew, focuses on the process of murder and tells those around Him that those who hate have committed murder in their hearts. It seems as if Jesus was concerned as much with the process as He was the act, for without the process, there would be no act.
 
Murder takes place when we take someone's life or destroy someone's life through gossip, slander, and hatred; it separates us from all things good.


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