Commandment #6: You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13) The older reading of this commandment was “Thou shalt not kill.”
The Sixth Commandment was meant to exclude all intentional taking of human life—with exceptions allowed for war or capital punishment. To re-state this commandment as a positive principle: we are to value and protect all human life. Everyone agrees that intentionally killing somebody is wrong—with the exceptions noted above. But not all Christians agree with the basic meaning of the commandment. Some Christians are pacifists and believe that all killing is wrong—even in war. In the early church, many Christians refused to join the army because they would not kill. Some churches still believe and practice this. They become Conscientious Objectors. In a compromise view, other Christians teach that a limited-war may be permissible, if it is a so-called “just war.” That requires a war be in self-defense and every effort made to protect as many lives as possible. But still other Christians approve of “holy wars,” like the medieval crusades, in which killing is a religious sacrament. I don’t intend to settle these ageold debates in this column; instead I want to tell a true story that has influenced my understanding of not-killing.
You may have heard of Jim Elliot and his four fellow missionaries who were seeking to share the gospel with an Ecuador jungle tribe, the Aucas. In 1956 the five missionaries (leaving their wives at home) landed their plane on a river and made contact with three Aucas who came out of the jungle. That first contact seemed friendly, and the missionaries set up camp there. But the next day a group of Auca men came and attacked the camp with spears and arrows. All five missionaries were killed.
What was surprising about this story was that the missionaries had guns. They had brought guns to kill jungle animals, but they had not brought them to kill people. They chose to be killed rather than to use their guns in self-defense. Perhaps they thought of the Sixth Commandment, or perhaps they realized that killing the people they had come to reach would contradict the Great Commission: taking the gospel to the whole world! Jim Elliot’s widow, Elizabeth, returned to live with the Auca people and eventually she led them to Christ. The willingness of the five missionaries to die for the gospel inspired a generation of new missionaries, including me.
When Jean and I joined a mission to serve in Africa, we made a similar commitment to each other and to God: if such a moment happened, we would choose to be killed rather than to kill. Here is the logic of that choice: if we die, we go to heaven; if we kill, we send our attacker to hell, so better that we should die. In our case, such a choice never occurred; but that commitment is still true for us today.
Jesus gave a deeper understanding of the Sixth Commandment. Probably most of us think that we have never broken this commandment. I can honestly say that I have never killed anybody, either by murder, manslaughter, or accidentally. But then I read Jesus’ words that anger in one’s heart is as serious a sin as murder. Murder begins in the heart, proceeds to the mouth (the words we use), and then is acted upon (Matthew 5:21).
If murder begins with hatred, it ends with love. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). Keeping the commandments begins with love for all others in one’s heart. Perhaps that is why Jim Elliot wouldn’t kill the men attacking him: he loved the Aucas as himself.
There is one more reason not to kill: quoting President Trump in his 2020 State of the Union Address: “Every human life is a sacred gift from God.” He is right! Every human everywhere is made in the image of God and therefore every life is sacred and deserves respect and protection. Trump was speaking about abortion, but his words equally apply to other instances. I apply Trump’s words to people who are starving due to famines in Africa, I must care for their lives as I would care for my own family. Trump’s words apply to those who are dying from preventable diseases in other countries, as a Christian I must seek to provide them the healthcare they need to stay alive. His words apply to people whose lives and livelihoods are destroyed by severe weather and flooding at home or abroad, I must do what I can to help them as others might do to help me in that circumstance. God does not favor Americans over Africans or Asians—every human life everywhere is a sacred gift to us all.
I have never killed anyone, but the meaning of this commandment goes deeper: seeking, wherever possible, to save lives. In this way, I love others as myself!
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell.