Commandment 6 - Life Can Be Cheap

COMMANDMENT 6 - LIFE CAN BE CHEAP

The sixth commandment is not about the killing of one's enemies, nor about killing ordered by the state, such as capital punishment, and nor is it about killing of animals.

In fact, it is not about "killing" at all. The word "kill" is actually a mistranslation. In both Hebrew and Greek it really means "to murder."

So the sixth commandment is "You shall not commit murder." In other words, it forbids the unauthorised taking of a human life.

As such, it commands the agreement of all human societies.

However, even this straight-forward prohibition has been complicated in recent times.

Take for instance, abortion, which until recent times was regarded as a criminal offence and contrary to the moral law. Today, in some countries, under certain conditions and restrictions. it has been legalised.

I suppose it all depends upon when you consider life to begin. Is it upon conception or upon birth? If it is at conception, then to destroy a foetus is murder. If it is upon birth, then abortion is in principle justified.

Or take for instance euthanasia, sometimes called "mercy killing". Is this murder? It has certainly been universally condemned in the past and is still illegal, though sometimes surreptitiously practiced with impunity.

I suppose it all depends upon when one considers life ends - and of course, what you mean by life.

There are no easy answers to these questions.

All would agree that any kind of humane social life would be impossible if people were allowed to take the law into their own hands, or where human life was cheap.

But the Christian goes much further than this commonsense level of supporting the sixth commandment against committing murder. He believes that the reason we do not take life is because it is not ours to take. God gives life and therefore only God can take it away.

Now before you pat yourself on the back and say you have never committed murder, let me remind you of some words of Jesus.

In the Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew's Gospel he says:

"You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, 'You shall not murder;' and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgement'. But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement."

The trouble with Jesus is that he was never just concerned with the outward action, but rather he was equally, if not more, concerned about the inward motive behind the action.

And the inward motive behind so many murders is that of anger - or as the New English Bible translates it as "nursing anger."

Jesus is not saying that sudden and/or temporary anger with someone is equivalent to murdering him or her.

Much rather he is thinking of a bitter grievance, or desire for vengeance, or deep hatred, which has been cherished for a long time but never yet given outward expression (except in the words 'I'll kill him if I get the chance.') probably through fear of the consequences.

Few of us, I suggest, can put our hand on our heart and say that we have never 'nursed anger'. We may not have murdered, but the seeds of such actions have been present within us.

So whilst the Old Testament says "You shall not commit murder", the New Testament says "Do not nurse anger against your brother: overcome evil with good."