As we enter the month of June, my focus shifts to the Sixth Commandment, commonly known as “Thou shalt not kill.” But Leviticus 19 verses 16 and 17 take it further, “Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life… Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.” Jesus provided a similar emphasis in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-22) when he said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”
Both the Old & New Testaments acknowledge that violence, long before it becomes action, starts in the heart. That is why the Bible challenges us to guard our hearts against hatred, envy, and bitterness.
We’re not doing too well when it comes to that particular admonition… The New York Times even has a segment entitled “This Week in Hate.” The June 1, 2017 article noted how a black college student was fatally stabbed in College Park, Maryland days before he would have graduated. Two men were killed and another wounded when they tried to stop a man’s hateful rant against Muslim women on a train in Portland, Oregon. Finally, a Los Angeles home owned by NBA star LeBron James was vandalized with racial slurs.
LeBron explained, “We got a long way to go, for us as a society and for us as African-Americans, until we feel equal in America. Hate in America, especially for African-Americans, is living every day.”
I recently read Benjamin Watson’s book Under Our Skin, which has some helpful insights. I encourage you to see what you, too, can learn from the Baltimore Ravens’ Tight End.
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