Tuesday, 14 November 2023
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
How we treat the people around us matters very much to God!
Jesus quotes one of the Ten Commandments and then says that the heart of God behind this commandment reaches much further than you may have thought.
Murder is an extreme form of the attitude that God hates. This is the same attitude that produces anger and puts people down (“you good-for-nothing” or as we might say, “loser”) and makes them out to be less than you (“you fool”). The attitude may show up in any of these ways, but it’s the attitude that God hates. This attitude breaks your fellowship with God.
In fact, God wants you to make things right with people you’ve offended before coming to him!
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