The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "Honoring life and relationships" for Thursday, 15 September 2016Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you.
ו 13 “Do not murder.
ז (14) “Do not commit adultery.
ח (15) “Do not steal.
ט (16) “Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
י 14 (17) “Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
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Reflection Questions:
The first four commandments focused on how people related to God. The last six spoke to how God’s people treated other people. The command to honor parents pointed to the importance of family love and respect. Do not murder (Israel’s history clearly showed that there were some kinds of killing—e.g. military service, judicial executions—they regarded as authorized) said God’s gift of life had to be respected. And adultery meant violating the vows of someone else’s
committed relationship—clearly a hurtful choice.
• The New Testament quoted the fifth commandment approvingly—but added a clear call for the honor in family relationships to be reciprocal (cf. Ephesians 6:1-4). What factors have you seen make the difference between nurturing, healthy parent/child connections, and those that cause pain on both sides of the relationship? How can you more fully honor your parents and/or your children?
• Ironically, Leviticus 20:10 said adultery was one of the actions for which ancient Israel executed people—the seventh commandment enforced in a way that showed how they limited the sixth commandment’s application. On the other hand, Jesus extended the reach of both commandments into our heart and thoughts (cf. Matthew 5:21-30). What helps you resist inner urges to hate or to lust, which Jesus identified as violations of the sixth and seventh commandments?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, some of the commandments sound simple, until I set out to live them. Guide me by your Spirit, so that I may honor family relationships, and treasure your gift of life. Amen.
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Insight from Evan Palmer
Evan Palmer has been a member of Resurrection since 2002. She graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in International Relations and worships at Resurrection’s Downtown campus.Today’s reading talks about Commandments five-seven: Parents, Murder, and Adultery. Honor mom and dad, don’t kill people, and do not sleep with someone who isn’t your spouse. Three seemingly straightforward commands with three entirely separate connotations. We all know, to some extent, that these actions (murder/adultery) are ‘wrong’ or ‘bad,’ and sometimes (most of the time for me) brush them off as irrelevant. As noted in today’s GPS text, Jesus (per usual) calls us to a new perspective—to consider these commandments in a different light. Matthew 5:21-30 tells us that murder and adultery are much more than killing someone or the physical act of sleeping with someone other than your wife/husband. We learn that anger is just as much a sin as murder (v. 22) and lusting after another is ‘adultery… in his [her] heart’ (v. 28). Commandment #5 (Honor your parents) points us to the question of ‘How are God’s people to treat other people?,’ which is expounded on in Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” So how do we begin to implement these commandments into our everyday life?
The commandments become real, personal matters of our hearts and minds and transcend the boundaries often placed upon them once we begin to understand them. How do you treat other people? More specifically, how do you treat those with differing opinions than you, or someone you don’t like? How quick are you to become angry with another? How often do you find yourself lusting over another? The question posed in our GPS today asks us to think about what helps us to live according to our calling when considering these commandments.
For me, this becomes most clear when I understand my own brokenness and need for grace. It wasn’t until I personally experienced anxiety and depression for myself, that I could more fully understand our calling to be grace-filled towards others. I had intense anxiety for the first time when I transitioned from college and collegiate soccer to the ‘real world.’ I believe this, in part, led to feelings of depression as well. Until I had anxiety and depression to this degree, I didn’t understand why people couldn’t ‘pull themselves out of it.’ I am not saying I am now an expert on these ailments, but I am suggesting that living through anxiety and depression (and continuing to navigate them) has allowed me to better understand that human beings are all in the same boat—we all carry our own burdens, regardless of their names. I find myself extending more compassion, grace, and understanding to others when I remember we all have our own burdens to bear. When thinking about how I am treating other people and how quick I am to anger or lust, I think about my need for grace and forgiveness. I am overwhelmed at the thought of God’s calling on my life and trust that obeying these commandments aligns me more closely with His calling for me.
So how do Commandments five-seven apply to you? Remember the bigger picture we are being called to see here: 1. How are you treating other people? (Commandment #5) 2. How quick are you to become angry? Do you harness anger? (Commandment #6) 3. How are you guarding your heart to resist the temptation to lust after another? (Commandment #7). We have to remember our own brokenness and need for grace in order to more fully extend it to others. Trusting that Jesus’ call for our lives is greater than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves should help compel us to strive towards the embodiment of grace, which is what obeying these commandments leads us toward.
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