Monsterlizard - Born Again

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ”
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4)

This weekend, I had started reading this passage in preparation of this entry.  I was sitting at the kitchen table with my Bible, and my brother walks in.  He looks down at me and says, “I have a moral dilemma.  What would you do in this situation?”  Then, he drops a large wad of cash on the table.  He had found this money in a way that it would be difficult to find the rightful owner.  I started thinking and gave him the usual, “hold it and see if you can find the owner, if not it’s yours.”  Then I said, “ask Heather”.  I can’t remember what she had said because just then I was reminded of this passage that I was just reading in the other room.  I went back into the dinning room and got my Bible, still on Matthew 6.  I read verses 1 to 4 and I think we all knew the right thing to do with that gift from God.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

This passage fits in with what Jesus later says are the 2 greatest commandments.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:38-40)

Our entire existence needs to revolve around love.  Love God, love our neighbors, love ourselves.  If these simple laws were followed, think how great our days would be.  Even in the midst of persecution and suffering we would live fulfilled and joyful lives.

These simple commandments ordered to be the most important, are the most difficult for me.  I pray that God will help me with these and remove the vengeful, judgemental thoughts and actions from me.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37)

Our actions are really all we have to define us.  If we say “yes, I will do that”, or “no, I will not do that”, then we are bound to take those actions.  Anything else is out of our control.  We can swear by God, because who are we to control him.  We can swear by the earth because (as you see with the ridiculous global warming debate), we don’t have control over it.  We can’t even swear by our bodies because we can’t choose to grow old.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:38-42)

This is pretty straight forward: give.  Give your cloths, give your pain, give your presence.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:27-32)

I find these to be rather clear verses.  First, Jesus says that adultery begins much earlier than we tend to believe.  We rationalize our thoughts, but God knows our heart.  Next, He explains the one and only acceptable reason for divorce.  This is cut and dry and leaves no room for interpretation.  Adultery is the only reason.  The word that was used was ‘porneia’, which means several things alluding to sexual acts including homosexuality, sex with animals, and idolatry.  Now, if you divorce your spouse (I think in this day and age we can replace wife with spouse because these actions could occur the other way around), you are causing them to be an adulterer.  They cannot remarry without committing adultery according to Jesus’ definition, and the one that marries them commit the same act.  I believe Jesus was talking about people who divorced in order to marry up the social ladder.  If you love your spouse, these are easy things to obey.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.  Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26)

Verse 21 through the end of chapter 5 is Jesus explaining the Laws.  He is clearly defining what they say so that we will not misinterpret them any longer.  This passage is about murder, and Jesus is explaining just having anger is equal to murder, and therefore should suffer the same penalty.  However, Jesus also explains how to rid ourselves of that anger.  Our greatest responsibility is not to offer things to God, but to reconcile our relationships.  He also explains that we should attempt to settle our problems man to man, person to person instead of leaving it up to a court where grace will not be given.