Becoming a better man will definitely take into account the sixth commandment,
Thou shall not kill
When life is looked at, it is truly precious. From the moment of conception to birth, from infancy to adolescence, from teen to adulthood, we can see the miracle of life. In Psalms 139:13-14 David states, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made... ;"
It's obvious that God is the creator of life, and it makes sense that he does not want us to destroy what he has created. Hence the sixth commandment, Thou shall not kill. Our conscience bears witness with this commandment that we are to honor life. When we hear of someone being murdered, especially someone who represents innocence, our consciences are pricked, and we know that a grievous evil has been committed.
Life is sacred and honorable. As the scripture states, we are ALL fearfully and wonderfully made! Unfortunately, throughout history and even today we see examples of this simple thought process not being followed. I believe the root of murder, in fact, the root of all evil is selfishness. It is selfish to look at my needs, my desires, my life as significant and someone else's life as insignificant.
To be real men we must respect the dignity and life of every one. It is a sad and little person who does not respect and honor the life of his neighbor. What right do any of us have to take the life of another? It's purely selfish, cowardly, and evil for one to not value the life of his fellow man.
I believe that the true mark of a real man is love. I'm not talking about a romantic or platonic kind of love. What I'm talking about is an Agape, Godly love. This is a type of love that respects and honors the dignity and life of all people. This must be the overriding and commanding spirit in a man. A spirit of murder and malice cannot live and thrive in a heart that is filled with this kind of love. Again, when this kind of love is the commanding force in a man, murder and malice won't find any space to occupy in his heart.
Galatians 6:9 states, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." If you sow love and life, you will reap love and life. If you sow murder and hatred, you will reap the same in this life, and death and destruction in the life to come. Well you may be thinking, I have never murdered anyone, so I've got this one covered. Well, Jesus opens up the spiritual nature of this commandment in Matthew 5:21. Let's look at his words. "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court. But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court." What Jesus is saying is that if you are angry at someone without just cause, if you have malice or hatred in your heart, you're just as guilty in God's eyes as if you had committed murder.
I think one of the things Jesus is teaching us here is that God looks at the intentions of our heart. All of our actions begin with what's in our heart. Malice, hatred, and an absence of true love can lead to the unthinkable. However when agape love is present in our hearts, it directs us to respect the dignity and value of all people, and leaves no room for the seed of malice and hatred to take root. That's what real men do. They cultivate this love in their hearts. Look at the great men of the past like Marin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln. They were not perfect, but out of the love in their hearts they changed their own world and ours for the better. They are great and held in honor because of the lives they touched and the love that they spread.
Now look at a couple of the tyrants of the past. Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin. They did not cultivate love and life. Out of the hatred in their hearts, out of their selfishness they caused pain and suffering. They were anything but examples of real men.
If we as men would cultivate the love of God in our hearts, then we would change not only our own lives for the better, but also the lives of countless others. This is what real men do. They cultivate and spread godly love and compassion like lights shining from a city on a hill. When we cultivate love and compassion in our lives, the only direction we can go is up. With love in our hearts, there is no choice but for us to become better men. May we all follow our conscience and keep murder, hatred, and malice from our hearts, and men, we can change the world.
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