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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
I’m So Mad I
could Spirt
by Karl J. Forehand
You shall not murder. (Exodus
20:12)
This commandment is probably the universally accepted
commandment. In most cultures, around
the world, the idea that murder and killing are wrong is accepted to some
degree. You may even be tempted to
skip over this week’s devotions because you might say, “I know that – I
believe that.” But, don’t be too
hasty! Let’s take a closer look at
what the Bible says about this commandment.
Murder or killing happens when a cause is elevated above the
value of a human life. Abortion is
seen as okay when we place our political views or our personal comfort above
the life of an unborn baby. Some
might place a high value on money; and, if the stakes are high enough, feel
that murder is justified. Some, for
power, will resort to taking a life.
I love police shows – especially the one with the court battles. On a recent episode, a militia group felt
that their government was tyrannical and felt they had the right to rob a
state run lottery headquarters and kill three people. Their cause was considered more important
than the lives of three men.
One of the problems with this kind of thinking is that God sent
His Son to die to give us life – not just eternal life, but abundant life
here on earth (John. 10:10). He
thinks our life is very special and doesn’t allow us to devalue human life,
just because our cause is important.
I want to direct you focus to the New Testament and
specifically to the Sermon on the Mount.
In the sermon, Jesus talks about six Old Testament laws. He says that the laws are not just about
actions. Rather, they are about the
intent of the heart. In other words,
sometimes thinking about something is the same as committing the act. Specifically, about murder, Jesus stresses
that anger is not just a precursor to murder – In some cases it IS
murder.
You have heard that the ancients
were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be
liable to the court.' "But I say
to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the
court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before
the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough
to go into the fiery hell.
(Matthew 5:21-22)
Jesus talked about the heart and the different types of
anger. Each of these is as serious as
actual murder
1.
Prolonged anger
We have heard the phrase “righteous” anger. The trouble is usually that I feel my
anger is always righteous and everyone else’s anger is not. Paul said, “Be angry, and yet do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26). What is he saying? Don’t prolong your anger. You WILL get angry – but don’t nurse it,
don’t fuel it.
Sometimes reconciliation is possible; but sometimes it is
not. The other person might not be
willing or ready. What do we do? Keep being angry or move on? I believe some times we have to FIDO –
Forget It and Drive On.
Some translations say “angry WITHOUT Cause.” Someone said, “There are many reasons for
anger, but very few are good ones.”
We must ask ourselves, “Why are we angry?” Is it because someone hurt our feelings? Didn’t they hurt our feelings because of
our pride? Is it because someone
infringed upon on our rights? Do we
have any rights if we are children of God?
Is it because we didn’t get our way?
Again, isn’t that because of our pride? Many times, if we take a hard look at our anger, we would see
that we really don’t have a solid reason to be angry.
Prolonged anger becomes bitterness; and the Bible calls
bitterness a root (Heb. 12:15). It’s
easy to uproot a seed of anger; but once it grows roots, it is not only
difficult to remove but also sprouts all kinds of other fruit.
Don’t allow anger to
germinate. Get rid of it quickly.
2.
Valuating Anger
The phrase ‘raca’ means “empty-headed one.” Some translators say it means, “to spit
upon.” It is what you would say to
someone when you are angry and want to devalue them. The English language has many variations
upon this, but maybe one the closest is the valuation, “air-head.” To say ‘raca’ to someone is to de-value
them because they didn’t do what you wanted or do it the way you wanted them
to. To gain credibility, when you are
angry, you call them a humiliating name that attacks their credibility. What someone is saying, with this phrase
is, “If you disagree with me, then you must be substandard.”
This level of anger is classing someone because we are mad at
them.
3.
Judgmental Anger
To say “you fool” is to say, “You do not deserve to live.” It goes from de-valuing them to passing a
judgment upon them. How do we say
this? We say “Well…we just won’t talk
to them will we—we’ll pretend like they don’t exist—we’ll make it tough on
them—we’ll just gossip about them until everyone knows.” Jesus said that judging is wrong (Matt. 7)
God recognizes anger as sin at all the various levels. It’s not just when we actually kill
someone that God is displeased. You
see, our temper is not a personality trait – it is a spiritual weakness. Our anger is not an ethnic trait – it is
sin. It is a choice we make. Proverbs 19:11 says:
A man's discretion makes him slow to
anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
Anger
usually comes from unholy attitudes like pride. We say, “Who are they to do that to me?” Anger originates from selfishness when we
say, “I’m not getting my way…” In
other words, anger often originates from other festering sin. James 1:19-20 gives us some simple advice:
But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow
to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness
of God.
We have to learn to settle things
quickly. We can’t prolong fights and
nurse anger. Someone said, “Anger is
a wind that blows out the candle of the mind.” Usually when we are angry, we are not thinking. You shall not murder, but you shall also
not prolong anger and allow yourself to sin.
Karl J. Forehand
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