You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children
of your people, you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am
Church! Have we become a group of haters? Are we
so caught up in what we aren’t that we have forgotten what we are? We are the
bride of Christ. When we picture a bride on her wedding day I would hope we don’t
see a bridezilla, but a lovely young woman, who is the epitome of love in her purity
with all the promises of a future being fulfilled for her groom. I don’t see
her walking down the aisle talking to the guests about the latest gossip, or
pointing out who wronged her, or who did what to who, or worse yet picking out
who she wants to go out with on the weekend. No, the bride keeps her eyes on
her groom, and he keeps his eyes on her, and they both have the same look of
total anticipation and excitement on their faces. The bride is not a hater on
that day, she is his beloved, and that’s all she cares about once she stands
before him.
Jesus was indeed the lawgiver, and He was also
the Master Teacher. Filling both positions, He gave us a series of explanations
of what the intention of the law was, that is the difference of the letter of
the law and the spirit of the law. We are about to get into some heavy-duty
lessons from our Teacher. We can refer to these as the “you have heard it said.”
It is when Jesus goes into the commandments and how they should be lived out,
particularly the commandments on how we should live with each other. He who
says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4
Sometimes this can seem harsh to the world, and
even to our brothers and sisters, but it’s not. See, love does require
discipline and boundaries. It is not loving to be without boundaries. When you
know that something is going harm someone, is it loving to sit idly by and
allow them to partake in it? The Nazis referred to the gas chambers as the
showers and the saunas. Would you want to be holding the door for either no
matter how lovely they sounded?
In the world today, there is enough hate to go around.
As Christians, we need to spread the love of God. We also need to know what
that looks like, so spending some time on the mount beside the sea and
listening to our Teacher show us and tell us how to live and love is vitally
important.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old,
‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
Matt.5:21
I can’t think of a single person I know that
would say that murder is okay, can you? Yet there are many that say that
abortion is not murder, it is a choice. But if the choice is that the woman is
excited and happy to be pregnant it is a life, her baby, and people become
excited for her. From the moment she knows she’s pregnant, if she is pro-pregnancy
it is a person, and everyone around her will do all they can to protect that
life. If she is not pro-pregnancy, then there are those in our society that
will do all they can to assist her to end that baby’s life so she can continue
her life and “live out her dreams and potential”. The only difference is what
value is placed on the life in the mind of the one who has the power of life
and death. Isn’t this always the way it is in murder? As long as our lives are
valued by others we are alive, but if someone decides they don’t value our
lives and has the power to take them from us, aren’t we then capable of being
murdered? Aren’t there people in our society that will do all they can to make
sure we, as the church, aren’t here? Aren’t there people who will just hate us
for our color, our gender, or because we’re Christian? But should we become
haters in return? If it is possible, as much depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Romans
12:18
Murder burns in all our hearts at times when we let anger
take over. We all think about what life would be like if only that one brother
or sister who so irritates us was no longer in the picture. How many times have
we fumed at complete strangers on the freeway, or in lines at the airport, or
anywhere we might be ‘inconvenienced’ ? Maybe
we don’t wish them dead, maybe just gone, but it is the same thought when it is
in anger.
“But I
say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in
danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell
fire.” Matt.5:22
At this time I could just see Peter turn to
Andrew and say, “It’s a good thing for me that Matthew isn’t my brother.”
Andrew would answer, “Being your brother, I’d say
it’s a better thing for Matthew.”
What does it mean to be angry without cause?
There are times when anger is righteous. God was angry when someone came
against His children, and His anger was righteous. If someone were to come
against our children and do something hideous to them, then there is a cause to
be angry. If someone were to savagely kill a child, then anger would be a right
emotion, and therefore if mercy was shown it would be a miraculous action, and
therefore grace extended in its fullness. Anger without cause would be the
emotion without restraint.
If we think of anger as a pot of boiling water
that we must move from the heat source to place where it must be safely poured
out then we would think through how to move it. There would be a way to do it.
First, we would not grasp the hot pot with our bare hands. We would protect our
hands with mitts or gloves so we could get a firm grasp of the pot. We should
be like that with our anger. We should take the time to get a firm grasp of the
situation and just react, or we’re throwing our hands into the heat and burning
ourselves. Secondly, once we’ve picked it up, we should make sure there is no
one around to bump into us. We wouldn’t want to scald anyone we love with our
boiling water. Especially those who have no business being in the area at all
like our children. We need to get them out of the way, and if it means using a
forceful voice then so be it, it’s not anger, it’s protection. “Go away right
now,” is better than being burned by the fiery tongue. Finally, when it’s time
to pour it out, we need to control it and slowly pour so that we don’t splash
it on ourselves or anyone else around. Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still. Ps.4:4 If your pot has a lot of boiling water in it, it would be to your benefit to
use a smaller pot and make several small trips to the larger pot and empty it
over time. Anger can be a very heavy pot to try to carry, but you don’t have to
carry it. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt. 11; 28-29 Prayer, the word, and time can
help you overcome.
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your
gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him,
lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the
officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you
have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:23-26
It isn’t enough to have to deal with our own
anger. According to the Lord, we also have to deal with the anger of others against
us as well. Isn’t it awful to be somewhere and see someone who gives off that
bad vibe feeling in our direction. We wonder what we ever did to the person.
I had a friend who asked me if I had been a mean
girl in high school because of a situation I was in with another person. I was
definitely not a mean girl in high school. However, it did make me realize that
I had to get the situation remedied if it was getting back to my friend, and
she would ask me such a question. She could see that this woman had a deep seeded
issue with me that I was unaware of. We called a meeting with the pastor, and,
boy, did the boiling water fall on me. I was shocked by the accusations made,
and many of them were outrageous based on innuendo and gossip. I had to learn
to forgive and give it over to the Lord, and that was painful. It was a process
to empty that pot of boiling water, cup by cup, while my blisters healed. Over
time I saw God’s hand in it, and I learned a lot about the power of
forgiveness. I still think of her often and pray for her. I also pray for those
in the room with us that day, because I learned a lot about them as well. I learned
how easily swayed some can be, and how others are just and willing to listen to
both sides, included in the just was her husband, who brought about peace
between us. It wasn’t like we were best friends, but it wasn’t awkward when I
saw them in public either. Years later, when the woman lost her husband, I
found myself weeping for her great loss. I sent her a card to comfort her and
let her know I was praying for her.
The Teacher knows His students, and as He looks
out at our faces, He can see the angry expressions. He is very aware of the
terse brow lines, the creased foreheads, rigidity in our jaws, and the clenched
fists we hold. He knows we grind our teeth as we utter hateful words under our
breath against…against His children, because the one we are so angry at is His
child. He sees us, and also sees them in the same light holding the same
posture toward us. He forbids us from hurting each other. It is not His desire
that any of us lose each other and suffer that loss. Jesus wants us to make the
first move and resolve the issues before they become so big a gap they can’t be
overcome. Remember, in Heaven there are no grudges, no battles to be fought, no
wrongs to be righted, and not a single right to be upheld. There’s only Jesus
and His love for us, our love for Him, and our love for each other. There is no
demanding in heaven. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11
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