105. Q. What is God's will for you in the sixth commandment? A. I am not to belittle, insult, hate, or kill my neighbor - not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds - and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.106. Q. Does this commandment refer only to killing? A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that He hates the root of murder: envy, anger, vindictiveness. In God's sight all such are murder.
107. Q. Is it enough then that we do not kill our neighbor in any such way? A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly to them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.
My reflections on the reading from the book...
The sanctity of human life is under attack today. Abortion and euthanasia are being held up as "rights," while the right to protect oneself is being stripped away. Violence and terror reigns all throughout the world, while God's authority is denied and His laws ignored. It all boils down to the heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead of loving God and loving our neighbor, our sinful flesh seeks merely its own gratification, protection, and exaltation. O Lord, cleanse my heart of envy, anger, bitterness, pride, and selfishness!
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