“Thou shalt not…”
These words from the Ten Commandments mean what they say. Exodus 20:4 tells us, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…” It meant stop when you start to bow down to an idol, for idols are false gods. In our present vernacular, “thou shalt not” means stop. I have discovered, for example, that when we come to a stop sign, it means that we are to stop. At least two times, or maybe three, policemen have reminded me of this when I came to what they called “a rolling stop.” Which meant that I looked both ways, didn’t see anything coming and ran the stop sign. Well, at least I slowed down, but as the policemen told me “a rolling stop is not a stop.” The word “stop” is seldom used in the Bible, as I found in my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, but it is certainly implied many, many times in the Bible. Jesus told us to stop when we are observing a member of the opposite sex. Today, we call it “girl watching,” or in some cases, “boy watching.” Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard it said by them of old time, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ 28. But here is what I say unto you, ‘that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already in his heart.’” This, as I have already observed, applies to both sexes. It means that we need to watch our imaginations and say “stop” when our thoughts lead us onto dangerous ground. Jesus told us to stop when we want to strike back at people who misuse us. I know that some of you, maybe many of you, will roll your eyes when you read this, but we cannot take it out of the Bible. I will admit that this is difficult for me as well. There is something in our human nature that wants to strike back when we are struck, but Jesus told us to say “stop” when we want to strike back. This should be true whether we are physically struck or verbally struck. Jesus said that “whosoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39) There is something in this word that makes us cringe. Several years ago a friend told me that Jesus did not tell us what to do after we turned our other cheek. I somehow think that he missed the point that Jesus was making. Jesus understood that when we strike back, the striking never ends. There is no end to retaliation. If you get me, I get you back, then you get me back, then I get you back – it never ends until someone puts a stop to it. We need to learn this in our families, at our businesses and in our churches. We can certainly answer people when peopel verbally strike us. Proverbs 15:1 informs us on this: “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” We can solve problems with each other if we will refrain from arguing and discuss issues calmly. Jesus told us to “stop” when we want to hold a grudge against someone and not forgive them. In the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12 and 14-15, Jesus said: 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” 14. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus put a high premium on forgiveness. Jesus’ first words from the cross were “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) I think that you will agree that we have plenty of opportunities to forgive people. This is true in our families. I have seen families torn apart because people would not forgive their parents, or brothers and sisters. This is true in our churches. I have seen churches destroyed because people would not forgive each other. If you are having a problem forgiving someone, take it to the Lord in prayer and try to straighten it out in your own heart and with the other person. In this matter of stopping, we need to heed the wisdom of Jesus. Some of the things He told us to stop might seem impossible, but Jesus said: “The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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