Different Life: 5th CommandmentSample

I was listening to a talk by Rabbi Mordechai Kraft on the 10 Commandments. He pointed out that in the Talmud, the first commandment is actually the opening statement: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” He also pointed out that in Jewish tradition, the division of the 10 Commandments onto two tablets parallel each other. In this case the “first” commandment parallels “You shall not murder.”

What’s the connection? God exists outside of you. He is other, has His own special existence, and doesn’t exist for your benefit. Likewise, the same with every other human being. A positive relationship is when you want to know someone for who they are. A negative one is when it’s about getting something from them for yourself. People do not exist as extensions of our own agenda any more than God exists as an extension of our own agenda. He has his own distinct right of being regardless of what we want. People do too.

People can be infuriating when they don’t fit into our agenda. (God can be too.) I’ve even heard a pastor say that all his church needs is a couple of funerals to solve its problems. (Before you judge, have you ever thought the same?) Sometimes it would be so much easier if people who don’t do what we want would just go away. That path of anger or contempt leads to killing. Sometimes literally. More often in our heart.

Murder is an ultimate act of treating someone as though they exist for us, and eliminating the problem when they don’t. Who would make your life easier if they would just die? Instead of denying those thoughts, take a moment to pray for those people today.