The times-news., 1938-11-10

vembcr 13.
Scripture: Exodus 20:l3; Mat
thew 5:2l-26, 38-42.
From the Law of Moses in the
Sixth Commandment and the
teaching of Jesus in the Sermon
on the Mount we are taught the
sacrednesS Of human life which
positively must be protected by
law, promoted By love, and pre-
served by patience. Negatively,
the act of murder must not be
committed, the spirit of murder
must not be- harbored, and the
incitement to murder must not be
inflamed.
MURDER FORBIDDEN
EXODUS 20:l3: Thou shalt not
kill.)
Human Life is Protected by
Law--for murder us forbidden.
The right to life is recognized in
the Sixth Commandment. The
taking of life is an express viola
tion Of the law of God. Murder
is defined as 1.-The Intentional kill
ing of one human being by anoth.
er, without moral right or legal
authority" However, the Bible
teaches that murder is not limit
ed to the sudden act of striking
down fellow man to death. 1t
may be expanded even to the
shortening of life by various
means: Carelessness Of common
carriers, for example; or, the
slaughter of tenants and employ
Is in Il tiretrap store, mine, or
factory; or, the massacre of in
nocents by grinding and emaciat-
ing child labor. And while no
stain can by man be washed from
the hands Of him who slays an
other with malice aforethought," I"
it is we'll to bear in mind that
other hands than his may be red
with human blood. Thou shalt do
no murder" in any of its myriad
forms.
HATE FORBIDDEN
(Matt. 5:2l.26)
Human Life is Promoted by
Love--for hate is forbidden. a.
The law against murder with its
legal penalty is repeated and re.
iterated. 1t stands unrepealed and
in full force upon the pages OF
the Bible and the statute books or
the civilized world. (2) The mo-
tive for murder with its cumula-
tive power is revealed and repre-
hended. Anger is incipient mur-
der. The germ of hate is respon-
sible for the blow of death. Mark
its degrees of development in de-
scending scale: First, the invisible
and unspoken feeling of anger to-
ward brother man, which of it.
self would deserve arraignment
before 4 local. court; then calling
him Raca or Empty Head" l"
which might claim the attention
of the Great Sanhedrin; and final
ly hurting upon him the epithet
of Fool, or wicked Rebel" which
would expose him to the Gehenna
where bodies Of criminals were
sometimes burnt, symbolical Of
the eternal fire. (3) The antidote
! of murder is found only in the
love that seeks reconciliation for
every difference which might
deepen and darken into hate and
harm. From the religious point of
view, reconciliation should be 80
immediate that a worshiper at
the verv altar and in the act of
offering sacrifice should leave his
gift and find the brother who felt
coldly toward him for any cause
and seek full reconciliation. with
him before proceeding with his
, sanctuary devotions. That is what
God wants ina true. worshiper.
From the civil point Of view, sat
isfactory legal adjustment is so
urgent, that u debtor is warranted
in stopping his creditor in the
midst of journey to arrange set
tlement and thus forestall bitter
legal wrangling and probable fine
and imprisonment. What is life
worth without love?
REVENGE FORBIDDEN
| (Matt. 5:3s-42)
Human Life is Preserved by
Patience.-for revenge is forbid
: den. (l) The law of retaliation
| (Ex. 81: "a; Lev. 24:2O; Deut.
l9:2D is quoted wherein was
provided "limited revenge by fix
ing an exact compensation for an
injury" The law was disregarded,
! disobeyed, discredited; and now
Jesus displaces it with something
better which alone can reach the
higher ends desired. Call it (2l
! the law of restoration or of hu-
man reclamation. 1t is the possi-
bility of winning by losing and
the principle of overcoming evil
with good. Within certain areas
and under certain conditions, it
Is right to forego our rights, and
it is righteous to endure. unright-
eousness, facing it down and
fighting it out with love and pa
tience. Can we stand the tests
Jesus proposed? Duty to the in
sulting "bully" who, defying your
physical rights, inflicts upon your
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