"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:21-26 (NRSV)
Part of the Sermon on the Mount [from which these verses come] include 6 sections in which Jesus tries to correct some misunderstandings of Old Testment laws. This is the first of those six. According to the Expostitor's Commentary, Jesus in these six sections is showing the true direction of what the law was to point to originally [p. 147]. This would make sense because murder comes from hatred and anger. Murder is the symptom while anger is the root.
I've been thinking about roots the last few years. While most Christians I know would never murder anyone [myself included], what about these roots of anger, hatred, greed, etc. that lie in so many of us? Do we feed these roots or do we give them to God asking for him to forgive and heal us of these roots? To be sure, there are times when anger is justified. But it is what we do with that anger that is important. There are healthy ways to deal with anger: work for a peaceful resolution to the issue, ask God to intervene in the situation, stand up on behalf of those who can't for themselves, pray for the other person/situation, express in prayer how you feel asking God to heal your anger or find a healthy way to vent about your anger such as in a journal or to a trusted friend. There are unhealthy ways: allowing the anger to fester until it overtakes one's life, leading to hateful actions such as put downs, cut downs, verbal abuse [what the word Raca signifies - it means 'imbecile, fool, blockhead' [p. 149], rage, holding grudges, seeking revenge, wishing a curse on them instead of God's blessing, gossip, back bite, slander. And even when one has enough self-control not to do any of these actions, anger that still controls [especially if it is internalized, which is what powerless people often do when faced with a situation that angers them] can cause depression, self-hate, high blood pressure and other mental if not physical health issues.
As stated earlier I can't think of any Christians I know of who would commit homicide, but I do know of plenty who think nothing of hating another person, using verbal abuse, gossiping, talking behind one's back, hold grudges, and seek revenge. I also see Christians who don't know how to what to do with their anger so it becomes internalized into depressed, obsession, self-hate, addictions or other health issues such as high blood pressure.
For those in this situation, ask God to help you deal with the anger appropriately. Since there are many reasons for anger, a simple devotional can't cover all the issues but God can. Pray everyday or more about your anger and what to do with it. Pray for healing of the cause for the anger. It may take some time for healing to come but it will if you let God help you. Doing so will bring healing to you, your relationships around you and your witness as a Christian. Getting rid of the anger in your heart will allow God's grace and joy to abundantly flow in your heart and flow out to others bringing to them healing, grace and joy.
