“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13

On the surface, this seems like an easy one. I mean, sometimes you might get angry at others, but you’d never exactly kill anyone unless you’re a psychopath… right?

Not so fast.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’is answerable to the court. And 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 or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:21-26

Um. So, is Jesus saying murder is equal to simply being angry and calling someone an idiot (the meaning of Raca in Aramaic “reqa”)? Yes.

Why?

Here’s the crux of the matter, and it’s an important one because it may change how you interpret the Bible in many other places as well:

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

Although it matters whether you literally kill someone or not, it also matters equally whether you are harboring the beginnings of murder in your heart. Both the seed of faith and the seed of sin lie within our hearts. We cultivate it with our thoughts and the external influences we allow in our lives.

There’s a good story attributed to the Cherokee tribe, and I’m sure you’ve heard it:

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “my son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “the one that you feed.”

It’s natural to occasionally become angry. In fact, I believe every feeling is natural and not evil in and of itself. It’s whether you harbor it, whether you feed it, which determines whether you sin or not. I believe there’s a fine reason for every emotion, but there’s not a good reason for every emotion in every situation. If it’s not righteous anger, which does NOT attach it itself to an individual but rather to the sin itself, it is heading toward sinfulness.

What is sinfulness, but the potential of harm toward others and ourselves?

God doesn’t leave you to deal with your internal tempest alone. He gives many pointers throughout the Bible on how to not break his 6th commandment, how to starve the angry wolf within us.

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Ephesians 4:26-31

Here’s some advice on avoiding the feeding of anger. Don’t let it sleep in your bed with you, so that it may grow and turn into something uglier as you feed it angry thoughts. Another good idea is get busy, give yourself something to do to divert your mind for awhile and give yourself the ability to give help where needed. Charity will calm an angry heart fast. Don’t speak out of anger; when you open your mouth, let it be to build up others not tear them down. Speaking ill of others only breeds more anger within you and now within others.

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20

Here, it is suggested that we close our mouth and open our ears. It may help to slow our anger if we hear the whole story and consider another’s point of view.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.” James 4:1-2

One sin begets another. Stop it at the source. What is anger but the sense of not getting what we feel entitled to, be that respect, time, material things, etc.? We are entitled to nothing but what God gives us. Be humble and understand that we may not get all things we want from this corrupt, crumbling world. We have better things in store for us than that anyway.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

Don’t you love when another person gets angry that you’re angry? Doesn’t that calm you right down and bring a shared connection with one another? Haha. Fight fire with cooling water, not more fire. This is easier to say than do, but it’s easier the more you practice it, believe me.

I’m sure if you look for it, you’ll find even more advice on how to starve the wolf of anger within you. At first, the wolf will howl inside and pace in what it’s not receiving. Keep going. The more you practice the above, the stronger you will become over it, and the weaker it will be become. This applies to more than just anger.

May you have peace today or as in Hebrew, “Shalom.”