Guns don`t kill people, nor do monkeys with guns.
I see no reason to make this post nearly as long as the last one. We are now half way through this series which sees us arriving at the commandment - you shall not kill.
I think everyone has a good sense that killing people is wrong. However, for many the question of when and why is a factor. There are a lot of people that would argue there is just killing and unjust killing. For example in a time of war you are justified in killing someone in defence of yourself and your country. While that seems sensible we need to dig and find the roots.
Why is killing during a war ok? Is it the kill or be killed mentality? Does it not seem that the war is the problem here? How often do we consider the cause and purpose of a war? We really just go by what the media (tv, radio and print) tells us. There is a much larger thought here that I would like to unpack but I am going to stick to the main topic. All I will say for now is that if no one fought there would be no war. No one ever has the full facts when it comes to conflict on a global scale. Propaganda is rampant no matter what side you’re on. Which begs the question why can’t we be told the truth? Again, to punctuate this thought, no killing means no war.
Moving on many people think revenge killing is justifiable. The old eye for an eye mentality. Well I don’t think this solves anything and only promotes escalation. This means that most times nothing stops, things only get worse.
With those two thoughts in mind why else as humans do we kill? Self defence, revenge are the first two. Others would be, jealousy, there was an argument, some one may have wronged you or maybe there was an accident. A side from the last one what is the common thread among this list? The answer is anger. I think after this long into the series you won’t be surprised that Jesus has an answer for this.
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment… But anyone who says, You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:21-22
Again here Jesus is one step ahead of the issue and is attacking the root of the problem. Nearly all killing that takes place is the result of extreme anger. This verse tells us that we need to be in control of our anger and to not even speak ill words to each other. How many times is a fight prolonged by our inability to control our tongues.
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
James 3:4-9
That is a heavy hitting piece of scripture. However, I agree with it fully. So many of the big problems we face in life are a result of the details not being taken care of.
In a world without killing
As was covered above, in a world without killing there would be no war. There would be no murder and many people would be spared the grief of losing a loved one in a horrible manner. Also, there would be no more suicides for families to have to suffer through. Much like with the stealing commandment this one would see numbers of people in jail greatly reduced, because no one would be committing this crime. With Jesus’ statement above we would not even speak ill words to each other or slander, gossip or carry hate in our hearts towards anyone.
I will admit this is very idealistic and sounds like a fairy tale world but understand this is the vision that God had for the world and we walked away from that vision to pursue our own goals and understandings. What we have done is made a big mess of the world in seeking our own ways. It’s not an individuals fault but humans collectively as we choose to not follow God.
Consider the following. What if one of the commandments had something to do with driving? Suppose there was a commandment that was “You shall not run red lights”. It seems pretty evident that there is an inherent harm if that is not respected. Maybe you run a red light once in a while and get away with it. Then a few other people start doing it too. Pretty soon there is great danger looming going through any intersection because people all over the world are in too big of a hurry and don’t value the rule that is there for our your protection. Pretty soon many people world wide are being injured. People are suffering the hurt of losing family members and many other results would follow.
In this example lies the entire point of this series; that people are the problem, not God. So often I hear the statement “Why would God let such a thing happen?”. The answer is, he doesn’t. We all have a part to play in the world and it’s pretty simple really. Obey God and love each other and every problem in the world disappear. But no one does that and no one is capable of doing that. So here we are in a very messy world with everyone following their own moral compass. God set the direction we should go and anything else we follow leads to trouble.
I am going to take a break from this series and pick it back up after a few other posts. Thanks for reading this far. I would love to hear some comments from you.
Tags: Bible, Christian, Christianity, commandments, God, Jesus