Don’t Be a Fool

You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:21-22  

The ancients, Moses and the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments. Jesus is teaching here that if someone is angry and calls his brother or sister a fool then they may be headed for hell. That is pretty strong teaching. They may be the one who is a fool. Name calling is demeaning…is like murdering someone’s character. There are better ways to handle anger. Don’t get started down the road to hell because you are mad at someone. Reroute that anger into a more positive approach, trying to communicate logically and directly with the other person in such a way as to seek resolution to the problem. As Jesus taught, put others first before yourself. Treat others the way you want to be treated. You don’t want your character assassinated. Hell is a real place and it isn’t one that any of us would logically want to go to. I don’t want to go there and hope that you don’t either. So don’t put hell on your wish list as a place to go after you die. You’ll be angry with yourself if you end up there! Guaranteed.  

RSVP: Let Jesus know today that you want a ticket to Heaven, not Hell. 

Prayer~ Dear Jesus, help me deal with my anger…with angry situations in my life…in such a way as to resolve the problem with others instead of creating a deepening root of bitterness in my own heart. I want to have relationships that are encouraging, open and trusting with others and with God.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.