by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
Thou shalt not kill ... (Mt. 5:21)
but Jesus went far beyond this (Mt. 5:22):
"I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment."
He went on to say that actions motivated out of hatred puts a person "in danger of hell fire."
Even our offering to God is not acceptable if we have caused some problem with our fellow man. He tells them to leave the gift before the alter "and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Mt. 5:25).
The thoughts and intents of the heart ultimately determine our actions. While we might be able to give the impression of righteousness by conditioning our outward actions, this will profit us nothing if we these actions are motivated by self interest and self righteousness (Mt. 23:25-26).
If our heart is right before God, this will change our behavior. It is not difficult to help our fellow man if we love him. Our attitude toward others becomes apparent over time.
This also gives us a way to determine our relationship to God. We may think that we love God, but "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" (Jn. 4:20-21).