April 29, 2017 - The Sixth Commandment

The Sixth Commandment

The commandment is only a few words long, “You shall not murder,” but so much is within the bounds of these words.  It is about respect for the preciousness of human life, under every circumstance.

The dictionary defines murder as “the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.”  This does not include a court of law sentencing a person to death.  Though if I ever were to serve on a jury, with this decision, I would find it difficult to sleep for a long time.  Murder does not include the killing of someone in a car wreck or some other accident.  It does not include a soldier or police officer killing someone in the line of duty.  It is a premeditated act of hate. 

Jesus makes it clear in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:23) that in God’s eyes, hating another person is murder.  Hatred makes us not value that person’s life.  If we don’t value it, we would not care if that person were to die.  That is murder.  In 1 John 3:15 it says, “Anyone who hates a brother or sister, is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”  God sees our hatred as not seeing the value and preciousness of that person.

For believers, this commandment is the reason we are against abortion.  Psalm 139:13 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  And in verse 16, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”  God addressed Jeremiah with this, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”  God knows the individual before he is even conceived.  I know for the pro-choice people, it is considered an option for a mother to not have an unwanted baby.  But it is a baby.  It is a life.  It is precious in God's eyes and should not be taken in such a light manner. 

I read an article about George HW Bush.  He was in the hospital and being visited by his son.  I read the comments at the end and was astounded by people who were appalled to see a picture of an elderly man, very sick, and possibly dying, in the hospital.  They did not want to look at a picture like that.  Yet his life is precious.  Physically, he might not be beautiful now, but the life he has led is a beautiful thing.

If you were to meet my Grandma now, you would see an old woman with growing dementia, who repeats the same stories over and over, often mixing them up with other stories.  She doesn’t do much other than sit in front of the television for 20 hours a day.  She never leaves the chair she is in now, except to warm her tea.  Yet this same woman took me to Israel when she was 50 and I was 13.  She went to a synagogue in Dallas to learn Hebrew, so she could better understand God’s Word.  Before her heart attack, which probably included a stroke, she read the Bible through twice a year, in different versions, all so she could know God’s Word better.  If you wanted to know where a verse in the Bible was, you could give her a few words and she would quote it perfectly and give you the reference.  To family she will always be our grandmother who loved us unconditionally.  That is how precious her life is.

People are increasingly wanting our handicapped or disabled to be gone.  Out of sight, out of mind.  But even in someone who is not what we consider normal, you can find such beauty.  By the way, what is normal?  I would love you to visit Bristol Baptist Church one day.  If you come early, you will most likely see Brother Ed sitting out front.  He is a deacon and takes care of the technology, and he is in a wheel chair, because of a disabling accident.  You will find in him a prayer warrior; if you ask him to pray for you, he will.  If you come in about the time our service starts, you will meet Brian, in his wheel chair.  He wants to be at the door as a greeter.  He has been wheel chair bound his whole life.  He can’t sit in his chair properly and needs to be helped by one of the men in the church to get in a comfortable position.  He can't shake your hand well.  He cannot talk clearly.  Yet this precious man loves God and loves Bristol Baptist Church.  Visit this church and you will see others, young and adult, with handicaps.  In God’s eyes, they are as precious as the college educated.

I wrote this a week ago.  One thing I wanted to include is how we often dislike those who are not like us.  We don’t trust people who are richer or poorer than we are.  We might be afraid of someone whose skin is a different color.  Since our most recent election, there is real hatred of those who believe differently from us politically.  Yet they are all precious in the eyes of God. 

Specifically, I was thinking of Nestor.  He is probably about 19 years of age; a Bolivian boy who works as doorman at my building.  He makes 900 bolivianos a month, which is about $120.  He works 7 days a week, for 12 hours a day.  He gets only one day off each month.  I don’t see others in the building greeting him.  I would wager they don’t know his name.  I’ve seen one tenant angry at him because he was not opening the door for her because he was unloading another tenant’s car of groceries.  I know his name.  It was cold this morning, so I bought him a Starbucks coffee.  I doubt he can ever afford to buy one on his own.  His life is precious and I want him to know that.

As I hope you now see, this commandment is not just about murder, but about the preciousness of human life.  Every life is precious in God’s eyes.  That includes the jerk who is driving badly next to you.  That includes the waitress who got your order wrong.  That includes the lady at the post office who doesn’t seem to have people skills.  For my many teacher friends, that includes that one kid, you know who I am talking about. 

We could rewrite this commandment as, “All human life, every single one, is precious to God.”