The Sixth Commandment Thou Shalt Not Kill. Exodus 20:12 KJV

Hello dear friends,

           It probably goes without saying, but you should not kill people. This seems simple enough and yet we hear of people being murdered every day.

           I am sure you figured it out, but today’s devotion is about the sixth commandment that states, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:12). In the context of this scripture, to kill means to murder. A person can be murdered in various ways such as premeditated murder, when you plan to kill someone; accidental murder, when an incident occurs that causes someone to die without intent; or murdering someone for revenge.

           Most of us are not going to murder someone using any of the ways I just mentioned. However, the Bible makes the following statement, “For out of the heart (soul) proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19 emphasis mine). If our heart/soul is not right with God, this is where murders and other forms of sin get their start. One might say that even if I am not right with God, I still would not murder someone. While this may be true, have you considered that it is possible to murder someone without laying a hand on them.

           First John 3:15 states, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Have you ever made the statement, “I just hate him/her?” It seems like a rather simple statement that may be stated off-the-cuff. We may even make the statement, “I hate this or of that.” These statements do not seem so damaging until we begin to examine where the emotions come from that cause us to use this type of loaded language. When I was a child, I made the statement a couple of times to my Dad that I hated something. My Dad calmly remarked to me, “Hate is a strong word.” I did not like it when he would make that statement, but I have come to learn that he was teaching me something.

           When we begin using language that states we hate something, the enemy of our souls is conditioning us to become calloused toward the concept of hating. When we make the statement that we hate someone and someone else is listening to us, we begin to destroy this person’s influence. Even though we are not physically murdering this person, we are killing them in the eyes of another person.

           Let’s be very careful what we say about each other including people we may not particularly care about. If you find yourself struggling with hatred towards another person, ask for the Lord’s help and seek spiritual counseling from your pastor. Remember what the Bible says to do with people we are struggling with, “pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44e).

May the Lord richly bless as you are striving to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).

Pastor Ron Barker, MDiv.

Victorious Life Ministries

Ronald G. Barker ?2019