"Do not murder." Sounds easy enough, right? But then, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus starts driving this down into our hearts. He calls out "everyone who is angry with his brother" and tells us to "love our enemies." Even just a quick glance at social media will tell you that our society is living the opposite. It seems like character assassination is the given of our culture - and all too often, the Church as well. So what hope do we have for change? How would we live in the midst of a society that assassinates? As we've said throughout this series, these commandments are not rules as much as they show us the character of God. Let's look to who He is in order to see our hope.
Discussion Questions
We can turn one another into scapegoats. Confess a time when you’ve done this and why.
Mobs form around shared insecurities. What mob have you been a part of; either online, in terms of a cause, or even physically? What’s below the surface there?
murder in the Bible
Is there a difference between "killing" and "murder"? Here God commands us "do not murder", yet in the next chapter he enjoins capital punishment (Exodus 21:22-25)? Isn’t that a contradiction? What constitutes a justifiable taking of someone's life?
Genesis 1:26-27 says humanity is made in God's image. What does that imply about human life, especially the taking of life? How does it distinguish humanity from plant or animal life? Are some human lives more valuable than others? What does this mean for how we treat the impoverished, the incarcerated, the marginalized, the unborn, the infirmed, the depressed, the addicted, etc.? Does our answer change if we identify with one of the adjectives in that list?
Do our viewing habits cause us to devalue human life, or even to act out? What is the relationship of intake to outflow in terms of media? All draw a line at some justified point; this far, but no farther – no way, not me! Would dialing things back make a tangible difference in how you treat others? Can we really know what’s going on (i.e., frog in the kettle, desensitized)?
What does God say is the only appropriate currency for life in Genesis 9:6? What reason does it cite? Insurance companies place a monetary value on human life. Why does our approach change when the life being valued is someone we love?
murder in the South Bay
Jesus claimed that calling someone a 'fool' is as dangerous as murder. (Matthew 5:21-24,43-48) Is there a person in your life who is effectively dead to you? What insecurities in you are exposed by those feelings of contempt?
Schadenfreude is the pleasure derived from another person's misfortune. We easily slide from not-judging or minding our own business into idle entertainment at the expense of someone else - especially of our "enemies”. We feast on video clips of instant karma or people getting destroyed who represent what we don’t like. Why?
the opposite of murder
What words come to mind as the 'opposite of murder'? Who pays the cost in this new list of words? Outside of our family, who adds value to your life, and what does it cost them? To whom are you adding value and what does it cost you? To whom do you need to add value, in order to counteract the fact that you’ve been taking it from them? What will that cost you? Jesus gives us life and forgives at the cost of his own life (Luke 23:34).
"Forgiveness flounders because I exclude my enemy from the community of humans and I exclude myself from the community of sinners." (Miroslav Volf) When we lionize ourselves and dehumanize our enemies, forgiveness becomes impossible. How does an inflated sense of self-importance prevent any real compassion? Where are you missing the mark on this now?
Tim Keller has said (basically), "Anyone who says 'I would never do that!' does not get the Gospel." How does the cross destroy our sense of self-importance while re-humanizing our enemies?
Gospel: Jesus died for murderers... murderers like Moses, David, Paul... and me. And yet he transformed life-takers into life-givers, like him. How does that melt and remake you? How does this affect what the South Bay needs today?
