Bible Question:
"Anyone who murders man will be killed by man. That is because I have made man in my own likeness." (Gen 9:6) Can you possibly imagine Jesus following this scripture? Killing someone because someone has murdered someone? Wouldn't it be more christian to find out what were the motives of the murderer and try to fix his problems? |
Bible Answer: He is not talking about a physical act of killing a body. He is referring to our tendency to think angry thoughts about our neighbor, brother, parents, etc. If we let our angry thoughts develop in our minds unchecked, we will feel this world which we live in is out to get US. That is the way in which our mind works. We will see others out to attack us; it will seem that the world is unsafe. Its all because of our unchecked attack thoughts in our minds. We will seem to be 'killed'; we will see our enemies in our parents, in the people on the street, in innocent, harmless people - we will find enemies. Our mind has produced this- our fearful, angry, harmful thoughts bounce right back at us. We 'kill' ourselves. We kill our own peace of mind. We become mad/crazy and insane in that we no longer know what is real; now we can no longer see our brother for who he is. I have made man in my own likeness. We have the power of God to create anything. We make what we experience by the thoughts we think. We can chose a different experience by chosing different thoughts. Whatever thoughts we have, we then believe is true, and it is then made manifest in our lives. We have the power to create; this is given us by God. So if I attack someone and judge them in my mind, as somehow unworthy of my love, this is comes directly back to me- not from that person- but from #myself#, because no thoughts leave the mind. They stay there. I will receive what I have given. I have created my experience. The power to create and the power to chose is in my hands. The 'measure' which I give to others is the (exact)'measure' that I will receive. If I give 'murderous' thoughts- it doesn't matter that they are silent; if I let any murderous thoughts roam around in my mind, then my experience will be of being murdered, attacked by others- by loved ones, by the government, by strangers in the check out line, etc. It does not matter how innocent the other actually is- we believe our own murderous thoughts. So you see, it is crazy thinking. But we do it to ouselves. Jesus is warning us against this. For the Kingdom of God is to be cultivated within you. What Jesus tells us is, it is not the act that is the sin, but rather the indulging in the thought that is the sin. Sin is committed in the heart (which is the mind). That is where we have the power, the control; that is where the sin is, and that is where we have the choice to stop the murder thoughts. Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; Sin starts in your mind. Jesus wants us to stop it where it starts. If we heal our thoughts, we will find peace and joy. He is not saying "If you shoot someone you will be literally shot" or, even that God thinks you should be shot for shooting. No. God loves us. He is saying that, in your mind, if you are mean to others, you are going to believe others are mean to you. Jesus is trying to warn us of how our mind works. We cannot escape it, it is a law. And Jesus knows this about the mind. You must let your mind be transformed by the Holy Spirit in order to find peace. In order to find the Kingdom of Heaven, we must first bring our hurtful or fearful thoughts right to the Holy Truth and transformed by Him, so that we can experience an uplifting of our hearts and soul. This is true worship. Matt 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; 18 Matt 5:28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. |