02152020 – Matthew 5. 21-37
Hate AIN’T right.
Hate is NEVER right.
Hate is always HATE…and ALWAYS will be.
Jesus was CONCERNED about “hate.”
And, he seemingly was more concerned that WE – CHECK “ourselves” before we WRECK “ourselves” – OR “OTHERS.”
Yeah, hate is “THAT BIG” of a DEAL!
Just LISTEN to the SOUND of these words…
“to feel INTENSE or PASSIONATE DISLIKE for…” “a SHUDDERING REPUGNANCE of…”
To “DESPISE,” “ABHOR,” “DETEST,” “to LOATHE another human being…”
“To experience, ENMITY, CONTEMPT or ANIMOSITY for another person…”
THE FBI (The Federal Bureau of Investigation) defines a “HATE CRIME” as a “criminal offense against a PERSON or PROPERTY, motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s BIAS against a RACE, RELIGION, DISABILITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, ETHNICITY, GENDER, or gender IDENTITY.”
A “hate CRIME” is not the same as “HATE SPEECH,” which is also “illegal,” although often BATTLED by free speech PROPONENTS.
“Hate crime LAWS” and “hate speech” look at the HEART of a person’s “MOTIVATION” to HURT another person.
And they are sometimes DIFFICULT “to CONVICT,” because who KNOWS the HEART of another person?
GOD DOES, that’s WHO!
And Jesus was CONCERNED with HATE.
That includes self-HATE.
Hate HURTS.
Hate is BAD.
Hate KILLS.
Hate WOUNDS…and hate SPREADS.
In our text for today, Jesus ties our hateful SPEECH to “murder of the MIND” – a kind of HORRENDOUS MENTAL POLLUTION, as it were.
It’s all part of his famous “SERMON on the MOUNT” address.
He starts to address SIX areas of life, contrasting what MOSES had taught—basically the LETTER of the law—with God’s original INTENT, with what we might call “THE SPIRIT” of the law.
God is NOT after some LEGALISTIC obedience.
He doesn’t want a look-good-on-the-outside human being; he wants an INNER TRANSFORMATION of the heart.
God wants nothing less than OUR HEARTS to be RIGHT with HIM.
And the first of Jesus’ six areas of life (that he addresses) is ANGER. You may have heard someone say, “I’m not a BAD person; after all, I’ve never KILLED anyone!”
But Jesus says even simple ANGER can turn into “mental murder” so quickly, that we have “effectively KILLED” with our “EMOTIONS gone AWRY and with our WORDS.”
Watch those WORDS.
Watch those EMOTIONS.
KEEP THEM IN CHECK.
Ambrose Bierce once said, “Speak when you are ANGRY, and you will make the “best speech” you will EVER REGRET.”
TRULY – “Words NOT to be remembered by!”
Or consider the wisdom of Will Rogers: “People who fly into a RAGE always make a BAD LANDING.”
But with God’s help, we can STOP the HATE, the ANGER, the HURT!
CATCH your ANGER before it HURTS others, and when you discover others are ANGRY because of YOU, do your best to make SHALOM.
BE the PEACE.
BE the SHALOM.
Whether YOU’RE the angry ONE or you’re the CAUSE of the ANGER, seek to make it RIGHT.
“CHECK YOURSELF before you WRECK yourself or SOMEONE else.”
It doesn’t matter if we are talking ANGER within the household, being CHARGED in a court of law, committing ADULTERY with another person’s BETTER HALF, SEPARATION and DIVORCE or in swearing FALSELY check your ANGER, your HATRED at the door…
Do NOT let it GROW.
Do NOT fan the FLAMES.
Do NOT become an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT, check your HEART.
Do NOT let it or allow it – to FESTER.
YOU ARE IN CONTROL.
It is YOUR HEART, your SOUL, YOUR very BEING, that is IN Jeopardy.
Trust one another. Believe in one another. Be kind to one another. Treat each other respectfully. Understand one another. YOU be an example for others…a shining example. Don’t be angry. Don’t be hate-filled. Love one another.
Check YOURSELF – before you WRECK yourself and OTHERS…
Amen.