Ten Words #6: The Sanctity of Life

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The last five commands are short and relatively straightforward. All told, these rules undergird the social fabric of the believing community. While their hypothetical meaning may seem plain, their enactment in real life is much more complicated.

After Adam and Eve were cast out from the Garden, we find the story of Cain and Abel. The text does not adequately explain why Abel's gift was more pleasing to God than Cain's. People propose all kinds of possibilities: Abel brought his best while Cain gave something average; Abel's heart was in the right place while Cain's was not; and so forth. In truth, we don't know. The narrator only tells us that Cain's gift was not regarded by God. There's no clear rationale.

The reason is irrelevant. This tale is not primarily about how to offer a pleasing gift. It’s about what happens when anger and jealously well up within us as they did within Cain. His rage was so apparent that God actually confronted Cain, to no effect. In Gen 4:8, we discover that Cain killed Abel. Anger tends to produce violent intentions, and this can cause us to lose sight of the sanctity of life.

In Jesus' only recorded commentary on the 6th commandment, he warned against anger. "You've heard that it was said, 'Whoever murders is liable to judgment,' but I tell you that you're liable to judgment if you just get angry at your brother or sister" (Matt 5:21-22).

Like murder, anger tears at the social fabric of a community. Whether by word or deed, it violently rips at another person. This doesn't just harm the individual. It's an attack on the entire community: both on the trust & security that people feel as individuals, and on the very way of life they share together.

When Cain killed his brother, one might assume the judgment of death upon Cain. Yet God gave him a mark of protection. This signaled Cain's relationship with God, even in spite of his great transgression.

What if we viewed all people as carrying the mark of God on their foreheads? What if we understood that all are made "in the image of God" (Gen 1:27)? What if we, as the people of God, deeply appreciated & cared for the sanctity of all human life? What might that look like (see Rom 12:19-21)?

I know there are complicated questions in this regard. Are all types of killing equal? Should we stand in defense of the weak, even if that requires violence? Should we prolong life at all cost for those who are nearing the end? Quite simply, the 6th commandment is not a black-and-white rule for all situations regardless of the circumstances. But it is a rule of law that lays an expectation for us as people of faith. We are not a mob of thugs. We are to show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy and friendliness to our neighbors, and to prevent injury to them as much as we can. This is the challenge before us.

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