Murder in Your Heart

Murder in Your Heart

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matt. 5:9)

Matthew 5:21-22:

"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. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“You have heard that it was said…”

When the disciples heard these words they knew that Jesus was referring to the Old Testament law – being good Jews they had likely heard the Ten Commandments over and over again. They also would have been familiar with the practice of judgments carried out at the city gate; if someone was found guilty of murder he was quickly executed.

But Jesus goes on to raise the bar more than a little bit – he calls his followers to not only follow the letter of the law but to keep the spirit of the law as well. We who follow Christ are to not only stop ourselves from murdering someone; we are to refrain from even thinking about how we would like to murder him or her.

            After all, if we’re not even thinking murderous and condemning thoughts towards others, we will easily escape the snare of calling down curses on someone or shaming them by calling them a fool or something much worse. Jesus taught this more explicitly in Luke 6:45: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

            Controlling anger, then, becomes more than just an exercise in willpower or thought control in that moment that someone dumps hot soup on you or cuts you off on the freeway. Instead, it is a lifestyle, an ongoing practice of storing up good things in your heart and then extending mercy, grace, and loving-kindness when someone hurts or offends you.

            It’s not easy, that’s for sure. But it is worth it. For by doing so you are a peacemaker after God’s own heart – a “son of God” as the Beatitude promises. And as you live the life of a peacemaker, you will be living in the kingdom of God, under His reign, and you will be blessed with a prolonged state of happiness, that place of indescribable joy and surpassing peace that can only be found in living for Christ. 

Pray with me:  Lord, you know I have issues with anger from time to time. Nothing is hidden from you – you know my innermost thoughts. Help me to store up good things in my heart so when that moment of anger comes I can respond as you would. Help me to fix my thoughts upon you, to feast upon your Word, to have a song of praise in my heart…continue praying as the Spirit leads you…

Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.