Esther 3
Hard to imagine being so angry at one person that you wanted to kill all the Jews. For most of us, at least hopefully, we would never have the thought of killing someone, let alone a whole group of people. I think for us Jesus put our anger into a different context. In Matthew 5:21-22a we read, "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 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." It is easy for us to judge people who desire to commit atrocities like Haman, Jesus warns us to be careful even of the careless words we speak of others.
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I read the passage yesterday without reading the blog post first. It was interesting for me to see what I gained from the passage, and what I thought the message was.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought regarding the passage was how quickly Haman judged Mordecai and all the other Jews because they were different than him. Because they did not follow the same set of laws, they were immediately deemed inferior, and therefore needed to be eliminated. How quickly do I judge people that are different from me; who act differently or speak differently? I am very quick to judge others, a trait I’m embarrassed to admit. No, I don't want to kill those who are different than me, but I know I have made remarks and said things that are equally sinful, making me subject to the same judgment as someone who has done evil things.