As a kid we had this weird, irreverent game where a bunch of us would sit around in a circle and take turns revealing how many of the ten commandments we had broken. The game was to guess which commandments each person still needed to knock off their to-do list.
(That is how the commandments work, right? Right???)
Murder was usually the freebie, but not always. There was always one kid who thought they were clever and would be like “well I killed a spider yesterday.”
With age comes wisdom, and it turns out the annoying spider killer probably had the better theological understanding. Jesus sort of set that one straight in the Sermon on the Mount.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21).
-Jesus
And oh goodness I’ve been angry. I’ve even wished some people dead. Some people (ahem) get COVID and I think “Yes! God has struck them down with the plague! This is righteous and justified.” So maybe I can check murder off that heathen to-do list.
CHALLENGE COMPLETE.
Now what?
