Lux Mundi : The Murderous Heart

The murderous heart

Murder is not much an action but our attitude (based on Matthew 5:21-22)

May 19 2019

Image source: Meaww

Introduction

On May 9 this year, 3-year-old Zoey Pereira died a suffering death, incinerated in her father’s 2008 Audi A6 car, strapped to a baby seat in Queens, New York City. She was found in the locked car that was set ablaze covered in gasoline. In other words, she was burned alive. She was murdered.

First responders found the car, with all its windows up, locked from the inside with chains bound to the two back doors, ensuring that either could not be opened from the outside. It was only after the fire inside melted the door handles that the responders were able to finally retrieve Zoey’s charred body. Unfortunately she couldn’t be saved.

Image source: New York Daily News

Meanwhile her father, 39-year-old Martin Pereira was hospitalised with 70 percent burns to his body probably because he had gasoline somehow splashed to his body. When he lit the fire to his car, he was also caught in flames.

According to the police, Martin rigged the trunk of the Audi with a propane gas tank and then set it on fire at around 9:00pm Sunday as the tank leaked gas into the cabin. It is not certain yet whether the father had botched his own suicide at the same time or if he had set himself by accident.

It was later revealed that Martin was very angry with Zoey’s mother Cherone Coleman, 36, whom he was locked in a bitter custody battle. All this while, he had been threatening to hurt their toddler girl up until he finally burned her alive. Engaged to be married, it was she who called it off about a month earlier.

“I’m just being honest. I hope he dies,” said Cherone’s sister.

“He was acting kind of crazy lately since the breakup,” she added, “and with his behaviour, it did cross my mind that he may do something to harm my sister. But it did not cross my mind that he would do anything to harm a child, my niece, his daughter.”

(L-R) Martin Pereira, Zoey and Cherone Coleman (Image source: New York Post)

On the afternoon before that fateful day, Martin used his visitation right to fetch their daughter from her mother’s. Later that day, he called Cherone, looking to mend their broken relationship but she told him to “get lost.”

The following day, Martin called one of Cherone’s cousins across in California and voiced his threat to kill Zoey. Shocked by what she heard, she quickly made a call about an hour before the murder to warn her cousin in Queens.

On receiving the call, Cherone frantically rushed to the police in nearby Nassau County, which is 30 minutes away, where Martin lives, before she tried the 13th Precinct NYPD. It was there that emergency calls came in concerning the tragic fire.

Police said that Martin had a history of violence and an arrest record for criminal contempt as well as aggravated harassment against another woman about six years ago. In fact, both he and Cherone had reported one another to different children’s protective agencies for alleged maltreatment of their daughter just this year alone.

Reportedly, it’s the mother whom the city’s Administration for Children’s Services was investigating but how or why Martin flew under their radar is mystifying.

Martin’s murderous behaviour is a direct contrast to the image he placed online. On his Facebook page, photos of Zoey were all over the place including a profile picture of both of them together.

“I missing [sic] her so much,” a very different Martin wrote online on a photo of Zoey some three weeks leading to the murder.

Zoey's last photo of her life (Image source: Oxygen)

The day the murder took place was only the second visitation weekend he had with their daughter since the breakup in March this year. On that same day, hours before the inferno, he had the audacity to upload a photo of Zoey at a salon (above) with her new hairstyle.

It was that same evening just before he lit up his own car that he called Zoey’s mother, saying, “Do I have your attention now, b--? I got your attention now, b--. You’re never going to get your daughter again.”

“I always thought he was going to hurt me,” Cherone said. “I never thought he was going to hurt my daughter.”

“She was my only child and I can’t have anymore,” she added.

Image source: Metro

“He killed a baby. He burned her alive. He did that to her. That’s not even human, that’s an animal. That’s a coward,” her sister said.

For those of you who know me, I have a pair of three-year-old-plus twin daughters. They’re about the same age as Zoey Pereira. I cannot understand how her father had so much bitterness in him that he would murder his own child. I can’t imagine myself doing this to my own flesh and blood. No matter how angry or upset I might get, I still can’t picture myself involved in something so brutal and heartless as this.

Understanding the commandment

Image source: WordPress

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgement.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgement! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Mt 5:21-22, NLT, m.e.)

Before we begin digging deeper into this topic, let’s take note of the difference in translation between what you read above and the King James Version (KJV) translation:

“Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: But I can say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Mt 5:21-22, KJV, m.e.)

Widely regarded as a reference standard for English translations, the KJV’s use of the word ‘kill’ instead of ‘murder’ has also led many to moral confusion because the truth of its origin is quite different. In fact, the authentic Hebrew version does not say, “do not kill.” It actually says, “do not murder.” That’s where the problem lies.

Both Hebrew and English offer two words for taking a life. One is “kill” (Heb. Hârag, הָרַג) and the other is “murder” (Heb. Râtsach, רָצַח). Here are the differences between the two words according to Strong’s:

	“Kill”	“Murder”
Matthew 5:21	Thou shalt not kill	You must not murder
Strong’s reference	#2026	#7523
Hebrew origin	Hârag, הָרַג	Râtsach, רָצַח
Definition	To smite with deadly intent, destroy, out of hand, kill, to put to death	To kill (a human being) especially to murder, to put to death
Speech part	Verb	Verb
Relation	Primitive root	Primitive root
Scriptural usage	166 times	47 times

As you can see, the difference is like chalk and cheese. To kill is to take a life, any life. In the case of killing a human, that can be deliberate or accidentally. Therefore, from the human life standpoint, killing can be legal or illegal, moral or immoral. It’s not wrong to imply that kill can be murder but murder is murder.

In other words, to murder is very specific. It can only mean the illegal or immoral taking of a human life. It cannot be accidental. Rather, it is evilly planned with the intent to eliminate the life of a specific someone. That is why it is ridiculous to say, “I murdered a housefly” where as a matter of fact, we should say, “I killed a housefly.”

But when it comes to a person, it can very well be to kill or to murder depending on whether or not it is deliberate. If it is something totally unplanned, then we simply cannot say that, “the person was accidentally murdered” because it just doesn’t make any sense at all. But we can certainly say, “the person was accidentally killed” or “the person was manslaughtered” because that is what it is.

Breaching the law?

Artistic rendition of Sermon on the Mount (Image source: LDS)

By correcting the verse to “you must not murder,” we not only come closer to the original meaning but also make the commandment easier to keep. However when we look at this particular verse from Matthew instead of Exodus, it is obvious that Jesus had more in mind than just the Sixth Commandment but in terms of what He said in the passage, does it mean that He contradicts the Law?

In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus have, in six instances, alluded to the Law as how it was taught in the past by the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus starts as many as six verses within Matthew 5 with the words, “You have heard…” to suggest that His people were told by the much derided lawmakers.

Here’s what you can find (NLT):

Verses 21, 33

“You have heard that our ancestors were told …”

Verse 27

“You have heard the commandment that says…”

Verses 31, 38, 43

“You have heard the law that says…”

But Jesus also follows through on the above very consistently. He adds the part, “But I say…” to create a very marked contrast with His own command. What He is doing here is to make the claim that He is a far greater authority than any of the scribes. But does that mean He is negating His Father’s Law?

Anyone who doesn’t understand Jesus would think so but most assuredly, that’s not true. He did not and will never contradict the Father’s Law in any way, thought or form. In the same sermon, He makes absolutely sure that’s the case:

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” (Mt 5:17, NLT, m.e.)

It is clear that Jesus had no intention of misleading His followers or cause them to misunderstand. His point in the Sermon of the Mount was to reveal to them two things:

Firstly, the Father sees the heart. In other words, God searches and finds our truest intentions regardless of how deep we hide it in our hearts. It’s what we lust after in our hearts that matter more to God than what we may or may not reveal on the outside.

To see the heart is to unearth a person’s real motive no matter what he may or may not say with his mouth. He may smile on the outside but within himself, he may harbour serious thoughts of murdering the person.

Secondly, He wants us to know that we are held to a far higher standard than whatever rules that are set to external conformities. In other words, Jesus expects us not to hold great importance to outer impressions whether seen or read.

While the Pharisees taught that we were ‘holy’ because of the right things we did, Jesus disagrees. What they deem ‘holy’ may, after all, not be:

“But I warn you – unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Mt 5:20, NLT, m.e.)

In saying earlier that the Father sees the heart, it also implies that we must have the heart to follow Christ. Although He wants to see that in us, He doesn’t want us to put on an act just to look real.

Neither is He interested in us going through the motions out of obligation. It would be dishonest and dishonourable to serve God like that. It’s also pointless because He can just see right through us.

Check out what happens when Jesus finds out how two-faced man can be:

“Jesus replied, ‘You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” (Mk 7:6, NLT, m.e.)

Two things arising from the above passage are notable.

Firstly, Jesus labels certain people, calling them hypocrites and secondly, He defines them as those whose “hearts are far from Me.” Although it looks anything but, their actions prove that their hearts are so far from Christ. Jesus says they say great things about Him but the truth is they are despicable. A person who pretends to be holy but actually harbours a sinful and wicked heart is nothing but a hypocrite.

The Pharisees proved their hypocrisy by deceiving God’s Chosen People into thinking that they were holy so long as they sounded holy. If Jesus hadn’t revealed how phoney they were, chances are that we too would be gullible enough to fall for their act.

What Jesus means by that passage is He’s had enough of religiosity. He prefers our hearts to be devoted to Him. He yearns for us to look deep inside our heart and search for our sense of holiness. Only then can we express true holiness.

Revisiting our thematic passage, we can now see how all that fits in:

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgement.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgement! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Mt 5:21-22, NLT, m.e.)

Moses’ Sixth Commandment reminds us that the external command is, “You must not murder.” Without a doubt, it is a good command so long as we don’t mistake ‘kill’ for ‘murder.’ The Exodus 20 version tends to lead most of us to simply stop there with the command.

On face value, we assume that’s all there is to it. But Jesus says no and urges us to look deeper and to understand that our accountability goes well beyond what the external command says. There’s a whole lot more that meets the eye that He wants us to properly understand.

In essence, Jesus is asking us to check our hearts because God can and will see what we feel and think. If or when we harbour ill feelings, God says we’re no better off than a murderer. Even if we stop short of doing something bad, having such thoughts means we are as guilty as a murderer in God’s eyes.

This is in stark contrast to the Pharisaical position which says, “I’m okay because I haven’t murdered anyone.” Yet Jesus says, “That’s not true. The fact is you’re no better because you have murder written into your heart.”

The key difference here is that the Pharisees are simply being concerned about meeting the legalistic letter of the Law while Jesus urges us to delve deep into the spirit behind the Law itself. The Pharisees go for the superficial nutshell – the external command in other words – to meet its minimum needs. Jesus, on the other hand, encourages us to go beyond the externality and straight into our hearts and have our motives checked.

As the apostle Paul says in his letter to the church in Galatia, the Pharisees believe that keeping the Law already makes us righteous:

“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” (Gal 2:16, NLT, m.e.)

Christians must know that the law have no saving power because none of us can ever keep the whole Law perfectly. In fact, our flawed or imperfect nature makes it impossible for us to literally live by the Law. That is why God urges us to change ourselves from the inside-out. In other words, we must be born again:

“Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’” (Jn 3:5-7, NLT, m.e.)

What God has in mind for us is to savour an inner experience. He is asking us to go far beyond the ritualistic practice of mechanised religion. Don’t play church, He says. Instead go to the deep end and engage Him. Have that desire for a most purposeful experience with and in Him. Forget what seems impressive because as it turns out, it’s nothing but fake holiness. Ignore the pretence of legalism. Ditch the overbearing hypocrisies.

Instead let’s strive for a far higher standard where God seeks purity of heart from all of us:

“I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when You find integrity there.” (1 Chr 29:17a, NLT, m.e.)

Think of worshipping God with a sincere and true heart. Centre our mind and love for Him. Steer away from anything that is abhorrent to Him:

“Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Saviour.” (Ps 24:4-5, NLT, m.e.)

Don’t use the law to define righteousness but instead, let it be shaped by holy living. Do the right thing with love and not hate in our hearts:

“Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” (2 Tim 2:22, NLT, m.e.)

In case you misunderstand, nobody is saying that the Law given by God is bad. No. It was proper. It served its purpose. And because it is from the Father, it cannot be wrong. In fact, it is the Law that equipped us with the ability to understand sin. It gives wickedness a name and puts it in its rightful place we can identify with. It also helps us to be distinct about holiness in the clearest possible manner.

What Law that the Father gave life to, Jesus did not come to negate it. He came to demonstrate a more compelling reason behind the reason for the Law in the first place. He fulfilled the law in ways only He was ever able to without sin. Only He could do the very thing that none of us could:

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” (Heb 4:15, NLT, m.e.)

Christ defines ‘murder’ in three ways

Image source: thoughtcatalog.com

Let’s again revisit the thematic verse but this time, look at the three ways Jesus wants us to understand what murder means beyond the obvious:

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgement.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgement! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” (Mt 5:21-22, NLT, m.e.)

Other than outright murder, Jesus points to three types of activities that were make us subject to judgement:

Jesus says the first occurs when we get “angry with someone.” Putting that into proper context, here’s what the apostle James says:

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” (Jm 1:19-20, NLT, m.e.)

It could sound ridiculous to an unbeliever because he doesn’t understand how or why Jesus would equate anger towards another person with murder. It seems unreasonable when we don’t probe beyond skin deep but Jesus knows us enough from the inside out that hiding won’t help. We may wish that He didn’t know us but He is God. Of course, He knows us all too well!

The point Jesus is driving at is that anger always precedes every murder. Ruling out clinical insanity, humans don’t just murder for the heck of it. A murderer does it because he is angry about something or someone. And he is obviously convinced that the only way to resolve it to his liking is to murder of the one who angers him.

Taking a step towards committing a sin is, in other words, as immoral as the sin itself. Anger, therefore, must be resolved before it gets out of control and ends up killing someone.

In the second form, Jesus defines “call someone an idiot” as when we hurl insults at another person. Given the context here, insulting someone is, again, a further step down the road towards murder. When we pile insults on others, we make them feel denigrated and scorned.

Victims of disparaging remarks are forced to think they are irrelevant, worthless and insignificant. It’s a form of unrestrained anger that will inevitably lead to something bigger and if we don’t pull back when we still can, chances are it will become much harder to stop. Murder can then be around the corner.

The apostle James reminds us:

“Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticise and judge each other, then you are criticising and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbour?” (Jm 4:11-12, NLT, m.e.)

In the third form, Jesus reminds us not to “curse someone.” To lay curses on another person is to reveal one’s unrivalled hatred. After all, no one curses anyone else unless he dislikes him enough to want to see him dead. It’s a very serious form of anger that feeds and grows into something far bigger. The apostle John has this to say about so intense a hatred:

“Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.” (1 Jn 3:15, NLT, m.e.)

Just as Jesus said, John affirms that hatred makes us no better and no less a murderer. It merely means that we are remorseless and absent a contrite heart. Neither too are we repentant of our sins. Instead we allow ourselves to be caught out in violating the Sixth Commandment.

Dealing with someone else’s anger

Image source: Guy Stuff Counselling

If we find ourselves having somehow angered someone else, Jesus has a way for us to resolve it. In the Gospel of Matthew, He says:

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

“When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.” (Mt 5:23-26, NLT, m.e.)

From talking about the Sixth Commandment (Mt 5:21), Jesus shifts the narrative to conducting ourselves if someone has “something against you.” What He has done here is to reverse the role play so that we may realise how others may be angry with us instead of us holding grudges against others.

Also, note that He doesn’t go into the issue of where the blame lies. Whether or not we have sinned against another person, the fact Jesus wants us to focus on is that the other person is upset with us.

To Jesus, even more important than who is and isn’t in the wrong is that we “settle your differences quickly” and “be reconciled to that person.” In any dispute, it’s not likely that one party is entirely wrong and the other is perfectly in the right. Besides, we’re all sinners. Pointing the finger mightn’t really achieve much as a matter of fact.

The way the verses sound, Jesus doesn’t want us to drag our feet as well. Wasting time can be potentially disastrous – tragic even – as many will attest to it. Remember, time and tide waits for no man. In fact, by the time we decide to act, something terrible might have taken place. So if we don’t want to regret our inactions, it’s wise to work on our relationships without haste.

We must also not allow the sin of anger to take control over our lives. Neither must we do anything to cause any party to be bitter, hateful and angry. Doing so can cause others to stumble onto a course to murder because the possibility that all this may have a terrible ending is not as impossible as we may think.

Rereading Jesus’ words from verses 23 to 26 offers us another practical insight – if someone is angry with us, it’s probable that we’re being blamed for something we did or said. But whoever is at fault is immaterial as Jesus exhorts us to take action and have it resolved. Rather than air our dirty linen and perhaps involve other people, we are to make sure things don’t get out of hand.

If you are convinced someone is pretty upset with you or that he makes you feel you have sinned against him, Jesus says it’s yours – and not the other person’s – responsibility that you do something constructive and that is to go to him and resolve everything. What God means is that when it comes to disputes, making things right is always our duty and honour and not the other person’s. We should always look at that responsibility as a great privilege to give glory to God.

During the late Nineties just prior to the new millennium, I was in a relationship with a girl who then invited me to attend her church. By local standards, it was a fairly big congregation and I had the benefit of meeting many people there who warmly welcomed me.

I also noticed a fair few young couples there whom I befriended. Among them were two sisters who were both married and both their families were part of the congregation.

One fine day, I realised the younger sister’s husband wasn’t talking to me anymore. From what I gathered, he was upset with me because I spoke with a foreign accent, which he took to be pretentious on my part. What he hadn’t realised was that I had lived in Australia for almost twenty-four straight years and not picking the accent up would have been close to impossible. Either he couldn’t understand that or he didn’t know me well. I took it that it was a bit of both.

As I was soon made to realise, it wasn’t in his nature to resolve any dispute. Apparently, he was the type to make his judgement and burn his bridges. Quite worryingly, friendships were obviously highly disposable to him. Of even greater concern was his wife who hardly lifted a finger to help him see his wrong ways. As for her sister and husband, both were resigned to him never ever changing his ways.

Given such formidable circumstances, I chose not to wait for him to make a move because I knew he wouldn’t but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t either. Even though I was still spiritually naïve at that time, somehow I was moved by the Holy Spirit to go to him and resolve the dispute. Given that we were all attending the same church, I felt it necessary that whatever the disagreement – and anger he had – it was not worth seeing it escalate.

For some reason, it didn’t occur to me that his anger wasn’t my doing. And of course it wasn’t. After all, it was he who decided that something as trivial as my accent was worth getting angry about. But God’s grace made things work in ways none of us can and will ever understand. It was ultimately God who made it possible for me to front up to him and straighten things out.

But that didn’t end things with him. All that did was to launch a sequence of episodes and the next fracas was hardly months later when he decided to get angry with me for something else altogether. Call it amazing if you like but it was starting to get tiring.

At a Bible study class, I asked the pastor an innocent (but topically relevant) question but he somehow managed to jump to the conclusion that I was mocking him. With that, he again decided not to talk to me for the next many weeks. Again, it took me awhile to figure out why. And once more, I had to be the one to go to him to resolve the matter before things worsened.

The next farcical episode took place a few years later. By then, both he and his wife had left that church on acrimonious terms and found another one to attend. Given the relationship we had built, I too joined them in the new but smaller church. Due to some political muscling and elbowing, my friend was unceremoniously ousted by the church’s power brokers, something I felt was unjust treatment. But of course I didn’t really know him well enough.

Unlike the earlier two episodes, this was far more serious because money was involved. He took not one but several loans from me over time. Eventually they all added up to many thousands of dollars. It wasn’t a trivial amount to overlook. Not that, as Christians, we should ever assume that money borrowed didn’t need to be returned.

As for me, I loaned him money on multiple occasions on the basis that he was financially struggling and badly needed the money to make ends meet with his online business. I was, in other words, responding to a Christian brother’s call for help. However there was one little problem – his wife was apparently unaware of the loans.

As to why this was the case was not something I knew. It was a matter between him and his wife and for them to resolve. All that mattered to me was that money loaned should be repaid. And if he had difficulties repaying, he should notify me. The point is never to take friendships for granted. As it turned out, he and I weren’t on the same page as far as that was concerned.

At around the same time, differences in our relationship were developing and they were a strain. We were beginning not to see eye to eye on various matters in church. All this came to a head when out of the blue, he decided he was convinced he didn’t owe me any money. Without a question, I was horrified and stupefied by his action.

I couldn’t understand why he would turn around and disowned his debt to me. But whatever it was, I regretted many things as a result. I should have documented the loans and I should have insisted on his wife knowing about the debts. As it were, I couldn’t recover the money owed no matter how hard I tried.

Unlike the earlier two episodes, this one was left unresolvable. The next natural step following such a serious fallout was to leave the church and go elsewhere. Not solving the problem had its indelible effects. Members of the church were taken aback by my self-exile because I just left without saying farewell. I also decided I was not going to have anything else to do with the church even though I had given so much of my time, effort and toil to help build it.

I spent the best part of the next six years attending other churches from which I learned a great deal about building and reinforcing my own faith that was, before I met the girl God led me to marry. Through the different churches I experienced, the Lord inspired me to develop my spiritual side. This made me realise that nothing could stop Him from doing His will. And if His will included plans He has for any of us, even a self-exile was not going to be an obstacle to Him.

They say once a person leaves a church in not-so-good terms, the chances of returning are as good as nil. Obviously that didn’t apply to me. Having left for six years, I did return but this time with my fiancée in tow. I felt that my ‘old’ church was a better anchor for us as a couple and hence, we decided to make it our permanent spiritual home. As for my fiancée, she showed a personal desire to know Christ and become a believer. Knowing the church pastor’s great talent to teach, she would be in good hands.

It didn’t surprise me to see the person there together with his wife. Evidently by then, they had grown prosperous, which wasn’t difficult to tell since their behaviour correspondingly changed. On the first day of our return, I could feel the tension in the air.

It was as if they didn’t know how to react or behave. Our presence had clearly unsettled them. But as far as the pastor and the rest of the congregation, they appeared very happy and relieved at our return. It almost felt like a homecoming in so many ways.

But none of that was important. How I felt was no less insignificant than how people viewed my return to the church because in all that time, my spiritual life too had changed quite drastically. Having experienced various trials in my walk with Christ, my faith had grown. My relationship with God was taking shape and it was like I had gone a full circle before ‘coming home.’

On the first Sunday service upon our return, I extended my hand to shake his. It was my measure of goodwill and friendship. I wanted to convey to him my willingness to move on and not dwell on it. Whatever differences there were between us, I was really prepared to wipe the slate clean and start again for the sake of Christ.

But as it turned out, it was all in vain. Right from the beginning, the relationship was tense that one could slice the air with a hot butter knife. His wife’s cordiality was like a crocodile’s eyes tracking my every movement with intense suspicion. Being in church alone proved difficult as a result but there wasn’t much more that we could’ve done. After six years of absence, I had to come back as a guest biding my time before I could return to serving God.

After a year of being back, I was given my first opportunity to preach and hence begun my service in the pastoral ministry. But a few hours after that fateful Sunday service, the pastor received a text message on his phone. In the message, the person wrote of his and his wife’s ‘disapproval’ at how things had transpired. He didn’t exactly state outright that he was against my preaching but to the pastor and me, it was all too obvious.

And with that, we saw the couple and their two children for the last time. We know not where they are attending church but we did discover evidence that they had also stolen from the church coffers over the past few years, well before our return.

Little wonder that they were so unwelcoming of our return back to church. And with their departure, all possibilities of resolution were gone but with God as my witness, I had done my part. I offered my hand of friendship. We even went to church camp together. I tried chatting to him.

In the end, they chose anger over reconciliation.

Dealing with our own anger

Image source: Dating Sites

In chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus postured on what would happen when we mishandle our anger and hence fail to forgive the other person:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Mt 6:14-15, NLT, m.e.)

The point is when someone causes us to be upset or angry, Jesus expects us to forgive. It doesn’t matter how he wronged us, we are to unreservedly act righteously. We cannot use our anger to exploit the situation or cause the other person to grief. Neither can we use it to humiliate or denigrate him.

Jesus’ expectation that we forgive came at a high cost. He died on the cross so that our sins can be forgiven so that we may start afresh and gain our way home to the Father. In other words, it was Jesus who reconciled us to the Father.

Through His death, He has also given us His righteousness. And through reconciliation with the Father, our sins are then wiped clean. What all this means is that we have no excuses whatsoever not to forgive those who sinned against us.

Undeniably, the above Bible passage reinforces the conviction that there is a like for like situation where what we do and don’t do, our Father will echo the same to us. If we like Him to forgive us of our sins, then we must also reciprocate with others. If we don’t, we can then expect Him not to as well.

Failure to forgive is proof that the Holy Spirit is absent in one’s life. It means the person has never truly received Christ in his heart. It also means that he ultimately does not love Jesus. If we are to have this attitude, we surely cannot call ourselves Christians.

Forgiving someone for his wrongdoing may sound difficult. That’s often because our anger gets in the way of us rationalising how we should approach the situation. When our anger gets the better of us, we not only can’t think properly but we also tend to make the wrong decisions. To avoid all this, Jesus has provided us with a number of steps, each of which leads to the next only if the effort is unsuccessful:

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offence. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” (Mt 18:15-17, NLT, m.e.)

In the case of verse 17, different Bible translations resort to the use of different words. Other than NLT’s (New Living Translation) use of “pagan,” there are other translations that offer other words like “Gentile,” “heathen man,” “unbeliever,” “worldly man” and even “one of the nations.” As for “corrupt tax collector,” the most common alternative is “publican.”

The original words as translated from the Hebrew Bible are Goy (“heathen” or “Gentile),” which to the Jews, refer to every other nation but Israel. That is why there are also Bible translations that use the term “one of the nations.” To refer to a person as every other nation but Israel is to say that the Jews regard him as having no religious relevance or communion.

As for the original Hebrew word for “corrupt tax collector” (moches), a publican is a person of abandoned character of abandoned character, meaning that the Jews do not have contact with. Publicans are, in other words, people who are not acknowledged as believers.

Below are details concerning the two words used based on Koine Greek:

	“Pagan”	“Tax collector”
Matthew 18:17 keyword (based on the Plain English Aramaic Bible)	“If you refuse to listen to them, tell [it] to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard [him] as you [would] a pagan [or] a tax collector.
Strong’s reference	#1482	#5057
Greek origin	Ethnikos, ἐθνικὸς	Telōnēs, τελώνης
Definition	National, foreign, a Gentile	Tax collector, a publican, collector of taxes, gathering public taxes from the Jews for the Romans
Secondary definitions	Pagan, heathen, heathenish, gentile, non-Jew, savouring of the nature of pagans, strange, foreign	Literally ‘paying-at-the-end,’ referred to the toll houses where the Romans collected taxes from the public
Other translations	Gentile (NAS), heathen man (KJV), pagan (INT)	Tax collector (NAS), publican (KJV)
Historical origins	Usually refers to non-Israelites; a pagan, a “non-covenant person,” standing outside God’s covenant (salvation), alien to the worship of the true God	Tax collectors were, as a class, detested not only by the Jews but by other nations also, both on account of their employment and of the harshness, greed and deception with which they prosecuted it
Speech part	Adjective	Noun, masculine
Scriptural usage	4 times	21 times

Regardless of the translation, Jesus considers a person who fails all the steps as unfit to be called a Christian. In today’s context, we might think of this as a form of excommunication, which, by definition, means an ecclesiastical censure that deprives a person of his congregant rights of church membership.

It is a kind of banishment or punishment that the church dishes out when its member is in breach of any of its important rules. The word’s Latin root is ‘excommunicare,’ meaning ‘to put out of the community,’ which is essentially what excommunication means.

But even so, excommunication does not mean we simply cease to show him kindness. It also doesn’t mean we stop giving him a hand as he undergoes life’s trials. As Christians, we are supposed to conduct ourselves exemplarily and without exception. That includes those whom the church has removed from its membership.

Disconnecting from such a person as a Christian brother is just one side of what we do. The other side is to still treat him as we do others who are not associated with the church. Of course, we must keep reminding ourselves that we can only get to this stage if the earlier steps are not successful.

To Jesus, the only way we can express kindness in such a situation is where the peace and purity of our church is secured. What this means in practice is that we have to deal with the sin by taking it out of the church and once we do that, we will be to show kindness and be at peace.

In the years of my first stint in the church that I eventually returned to, there was a woman who happened to be one of its founding members. Unfortunately she was also a very difficult person to deal with. She not only caused many church members unnecessarily grief on numerous occasions but her public behaviour left much to be desired.

You can imagine our shock and embarrassment when a non-church member who happened to be friendly to not only the pastor but also the woman in question called to tell us that she was spotted in public in a seemingly amorous encounter with another fellow church member.

This might sound harmless if it weren’t for the fact that she already had a husband and a family, just like the guy she was with, except that they were not married to one another.

Being a small town, that was an unwise thing to be caught in public. It was worse that by her action, she brought shame to the church also. Quite amazingly, she didn’t seem too perturbed by her behaviour. For one, she obviously didn’t think it was an immoral thing to do. For another, she hadn’t thought of the hurt she would have caused her own family including her children who were already in their teens.

The pastor and the church board knew that, no matter the challenge, talking to her was inevitable. We needed to hear from her that perhaps it wasn’t what it appeared to be. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, we decided to be open minded about what she could tell us. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. Perhaps then we can all laugh about it and move on from there.

To do that, the first thing we did was for the pastor to have a one-on-one private chat with her. Hopefully that would be all it took to resolve the matter. If she admitted to it, the pastor could offer advice, share the Scripture passage where Jesus has something to say about her conduct, pray together and repent.

It would also be an opportunity for her to be re-assimilated to the congregation and move on. The church didn’t have to know anything about it. She would be spared the blushes and in her contrition, she could also right what was wrong.

It didn’t work because she didn’t think that what she did was wrong. In fact, she admitted to the encounter with the rightly identified person who was a widower albeit in a relationship of his own. Due to her rejection, we were left in a conundrum as to how to contain the damage and yet stay on track and resolve the problem.

The church board was left with no other alternative but to follow it up with an official letter to inform her of our concern and then offer an opportunity to come and resolve it with us. We could, if necessary, have in attendance the guy she was with including the person who saw her in public.

By now, we were getting worried with a potential fallout because we were also aware that she might have gone about telling others that the church was looking to persecute her!

Unlike her brief meeting with the pastor, she offered no reply or response to the letter. She didn’t care to turn up on that very day while we waited for more than an hour for her. It was clear that she wasn’t interested in listening. She wrongly decided that we had already made up our mind to admonish and embarrass her.

That left us with no remaining choice but to take the matter up with the whole church. On a particular Sunday, that was what happened. The pastor took to the pulpit and revealed the matter to all attending members, explaining what had happened, what the church had attempted to do to redress, how we were rebuffed and what was left for us to do in accordance to Scripture.

Unanimously, the church decided that excommunication was the only feasible thing we could do based on Jesus’ instructions in the Gospel of Matthew. Not that this bothered the woman – whether or not she heard of the church’s decision, we wouldn’t know though it was the last we heard of and from her.

At every step of the way, there was a clear chance at repentance but she didn’t take it up. We really could have restored the relationship between her and the church. We were never interested in ousting her from the church. Our purpose at all times was to reveal her wrong ways but lead her back into the merciful grace of God. We were hopeful that we could appeal to her senses and help her to be contrite.

Unfortunately, nothing worked. She was not the kind of person to be told she was wrong. She saw in all of us people who were focused on bringing her down and not those who were keen to help her to recover the favour of God.

It was obvious that success was only possible if both parties align themselves to God. It has to be a two-way street. Both of us must share the same desire and that is to be right before Him. We had to go by the steps that Jesus commanded us to follow and she had to have a heart to change. Without all of these in place, it was never going to work.

Keeping the peace

Image source: lostloverback.com

Nobody can deny that murder destroys lives but not just the victims. Murder deeply affects the lives of the surviving family members as well. It tears at the fabric that holds families together, leaving behind broken relationships that are going to be all but impossible to fully mend.

Despite how Exodus 20 puts it, the Sixth Commandment does go beyond the obvious act of murder to include the need to keep peace in the relationship. No matter how broken it is, God calls on us to uphold peace and not let it fray.

We already know that Jesus doesn’t want us to merely focus on who is right and wrong. He doesn’t want us to think that all this is about pointing the finger in the right direction. Instead, His mandate for us is to keep our responsibility in maintaining or restoring peace in all our relationships.

But then what happens if the friend you angered is unforgiving? On the converse, what if the person who sins against you is in denial and hence refuses to repent? Adding to the challenge, what if he is an unbeliever who may not know or has rejected Christ? What then should we do and how should we respond?

Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew the following:

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken fro you, give your coat too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.” (Mt 5:38-42, NLT, m.e.)

While you’re at it, read further down:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mt 5:43-48, NLT, m.e.)

The apostle Paul reinforces Jesus’ saying here also:

“Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

“Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’

“Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.” (Rom 12:17-21, NLT, m.e.)

The passages above makes it clear that we are not to trade blows with one another. With the kinds of questions we raised earlier, it’s not too difficult to assume the wisdom of the flesh and how it reacts to them.

For example, if the friend whom you angered is unforgiving, chances are that you’d be advised to break the relationship and walk away. In most cases, the expectation is that when we apologise, we too expect to be forgiven. If that isn’t forthcoming, the world tells us to just move on and not dwell on it.

If the person who wrongs you not only denies it but refuses to repent, we’re often told that the best thing is to cut our losses and forget him. We are led to understand that friends just don’t do that to each other. And because he did do that, then he can’t possibly be a true friend.

And if that person isn’t a believer, church friends might even tell us not to waste our time on him. The general picture we paint of unbelievers is that we cannot be expecting them to think the same way as we do. We have a true God but they don’t. We have salvation from Christ but they don’t. We accept Jesus as the Son of God but they don’t. When we are so diametrically different in the way of how we think, it’s hard to imagine that we’d share the same views on how we define a deeper implication with the word ‘murder.’

So what are we then to do? If worldly wisdom is a big fail, how do we stay faithful to the Sixth Commandment? How do we seek and maintain peace even if the person doesn’t play ball with us?

The answer lies directly in the instructions that Jesus gave. And from these, we have the understanding that we are to surrender our perceived and supposed rights. Perhaps then we can look at the world’s battle for human rights and all sorts of rights as something that makes no sense at all in the spiritual realm. It is then too that we realise that our rights are irrelevant in light of the fact that we are no more than slaves of Christ.

From these instructions, we also to accept that in truth, we are no better than others; in fact, others may actually be better than us. Christian humility must drive us away from thinking that just because we are saved by Christ, it does not mean we reign supreme over others. Anger still visits every one of us because it does not discriminate. Murder still takes place in the Christian community around the world.

From these instructions, we must persist in loving others even if they do not like us. Remember that Jesus said:

If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.” (Mt 5:47, NLT, m.e.)

In this regard, Christians don’t have a choice. As followers of Christ, we are to do as He commands. And His command is that we love without condition, favour or motive. We must project an example of Christ by emulating His love, compassion and forgiveness even to our enemies.

While the world urges us to keep our distance from those who hate us or worse, to hate them back, we must have the courage to be an inspiration to the so that they may turn their lives and be redeemed to Christ.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ calls us to be the salt and light to the world (Mt 5:13-16). Many of us have heard this many times over but my hunch is not many really know what it truly means. Within the context of what we’re talking about here, being called to be the salt and light to the world is of paramount importance.

In first-century Middle East, salt fulfilled two purposes. It was used to extend the usefulness of food, particularly meats. Two things made this essential.

Firstly, there was no refrigeration back then and secondly, the desert environment made it hostile to food preservation. Salt therefore was critical to ensure that food remained edible and not so quickly spoilt. As believers in Christ, we are to preserve – or protect – the world from the evil of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures have been surmounted by sin (Ps 14:3, Rom 8:8).

Secondly, salt was even then a well-known flavour enhancer. Add a pinch of salt into a bowl of soup and the taste changes dramatically. Do the same with any other food and the same thing happens. The flavour improves out of sight.

In the same way, as followers of Christ, we are called to ‘enhance’ the flavour of the world. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in subservience to Christ, we are empowered to inspire and transform a sinful world for good. Just as salt has a positive impact on the flavour of food, we too have the potential to influence life.

Where there is conflict, strife and dissension, we are called to be peacemakers. Where there is pain, suffering, hurt and sorrow, we are to be ministers in the Name of Christ, ministering to those who are in need of healing, binding up wounds and comforting others. Where there is hatred and anger, we are to be ambassadors of Christ’s love and compassion, where we return good for evil (Lk 6:35).

To be the light to the world, Christ calls us to do good works that reflect our faith and love so that we may shine for all to see. Check this out:

“You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5:14-16, NLT)

In a world so full of hopelessness, anger, corruption and crime, sin dominates and fills it with darkness. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When God’s Word shines like a light, the darkened hearts of man can awaken to the truth that sets us free (Jn 1:1-10) and if our good works are significant enough, people will sit up and take notice.

Better still, if these works are carried out just as it is outlined in the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-11), we will know that it is not for our own sake that we do so but for others to witness the glory of our Father who is in heaven (Mt 5:16).

And so from Jesus’ instructions pertaining to how we define the Sixth Commandment, we must not fail to go out of our way to love others even if they dislike us. The key is to reconcile every single relationship in our lives including even the broken ones.

And if we fail to do so, we still cannot and should not stop loving. Instead we must persist in praying and working for those who are truly in need of God’s love. That perfect outcome that we yearn for will always be in good hands, God’s hands.

If after all that and we still struggle to understand, then we truly have no idea what Jesus actually did for you and me. It also means that we lack the understanding behind why He died on the cross. Not knowing the purpose and reason behind the sacrifice that Jesus made would be tragic because it means we do not appreciate the full weight of His love and forgiveness in light of our undeserved sinful selves.

In summing up, Jesus’ instructions tell us a lot more than we think. They describe the very things that He did for us. Just as He claims us from damnation and offered us a second chance at life, we must grab every opportunity to follow through and show the same care and compassion for others especially those who have fallen out of love with us for whatever reason. As Jesus reiterated, it’s never about the blame game. Instead our priorities must lie in emulating and embodying Christ.

Remember He gave up his unquestionable rights and divine privileges to die for our sins. He did so even for those who hated, despised and rejected Him. And by doing so, He overcame sin by conquering death. Today, only He can offer us a life beyond all life, a perfect love we are yet to know or understand and an everlasting peace that is way beyond human comprehension.

To keep the Sixth Commandment is to love Jesus enough to strive to emulate Him. To do the very things He did to and for you and me. Better still, let’s honour Him by following His instructions even in rejection, denial and unrepentance.

Lux Mundi

Pages

Sunday, May 19, 2019

The Murderous Heart

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

Reflection of the Week

Blog Archive