Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said, 'You have heard it said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder", and "whoever murders shall be liable to judgement." But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, "You fool", you will be liable to the hell of fire.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, from the New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I opened the first page of the exam paper to read: 'What were the causes of the First World War?' I racked my brain, what could I come up with:

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
• Mutual Defence Alliances between different countries.
• Countries built up their armaments.
• Countries looking to expand their territory.

The assassination, was enough to involve more countries and start the First World war.

What has this to do with today's verses from Matthew's Gospel, you ask? Well Jesus reminds us that we need to stop the seeds of aggression. Look at this:

• We think negative thoughts about someone, so
• this changes our attitude to them, and
• we say something negative,
• which can lead to physical action,
• and a mini war occurs in the family or community.

Stop the cycle by asking God's forgiveness at the first thought, and start again!

Wednesday 11th November, follow up thoughts

Lord Jesus,
you have pinpointed the
link cause of many problems
in our lives, our community and our world.
Help us to stop the seeds of violence
by thinking positively of others,
and asking for forgiveness
when this is difficult. Amen.