The Murder Before the Murder

Most of us hear the command, “You shall not murder,” and feel pretty good about ourselves. But Jesus takes that command beneath the outward act and into the heart. Long before violence ever happens, something can already be going wrong inside us. Anger can take root, and over time we can begin to see another person as less deserving of our patience or respect.

Jesus takes that kind of contempt very seriously. There’s a difference between recognizing that someone has done something wrong and deciding that the person is beneath us. Once we begin to see someone that way, it becomes much easier to treat him in ways we would never justify otherwise.

Then Jesus turns to reconciliation. He describes someone in the middle of worship who remembers that he’s wronged another person and tells him to go make it right. We can’t separate our relationship with God from the way we treat people.

And he also tells us not to wait long. Time doesn’t always heal relationships. Sometimes it just gives resentment more time to settle in. A difficult conversation now may keep a wound from becoming something much harder to repair later.