You shall not murder

In Exodus 20:13 which is the sixth commandment of God, forbids us not to kill, because it takes away the life of another person. The murderer plays the role of God as the author of life, and when humans attempt to play God, it never ends well. There is a distinction between “killing” and ” murder”. Not all killing is murder. The narrow scope of this command focuses on the taking of innocent life of another person. Capital punishment for example, is not murder. These deaths are administered to those who have committed heinous crimes, mostly revolving around murder. Justice is served when a guilty murderer dies for taking the sacred life of another. The military defense of a Nation is not murder. The nature of the world and it’s societies makes it necessary to defend one’s nation against external aggression. This justifies the taking of human life. Self defense is also not murder because we must protect ourselves from threats. Likewise the killing of animals is not murder, because we are told to do so by God and feed on them. All human lives are sacred, because we are endowed creatures with God’s breath. The battle today is between those who hold a person’s sanctity of life on one hand and their usefulness to the society on the other. Our postmodern culture that is so bent on productivity tells us that the disabled or elderly people cannot make valuable contributions, therefore, it is okay to end their lives or value them less. God commands differently so as to value the worth. He has given them as part of creation -a worth not based on utility. If that is the case, abortion, euthanasia, genocide and suicide break God’s commandment. However, no sin, including murder is beyond the scope of forgiveness. God’s bold grace knows no bounds and we all must be thankful to Him for His forgiveness of sin.