“向弟兄动怒的，也应受裁判；…骂弟兄为‘蠢东西’的，逃不了地狱的火刑。” - 太 5:22现代译本

我们人类有一种天然的倾向，即憎恨或忽视神和我们的邻舍。我们告诉自己，我们是好人。但我们的自私和愤怒就隐藏在表面之下。愤怒常常以暴力、仇恨的言行爆发出来。如果我们看起来不生气，可能只是意味着我们的愤怒尚未达到沸点或未尝有机会爆发出来。事实上，我们内心的怒火可能正在燃烧。

恪守“不可杀人”的命令，并不足以克服仇恨。我们必须解决这个罪的源头问题。如果我们能控制住自己的怒火不爆发，这样就很好。但要驾驭愤怒，我们还需要有爱。而表现出爱，尤其是对伤害过我们的人，并不是自然而然的。事实上，只有基督的超自然之爱才能胜过我们对仇敌的恨。

当罗马人和犹太人充满仇恨地杀害耶稣基督时，祂本可以呼求神的天使天军来阻止并毁灭他们（见太 26:52-53）。但祂却用爱来回应，请求天父赦免他们。当耶稣在十字架上为我们献上自己时，祂当然遵守了律法——不可杀人。但祂所做的远不止这些：祂更履行了最伟大的爱的律法。

祷告

神啊，请帮助我们不在今天的世界上增加愤怒的情绪。帮助我们不仅要控制我们的愤怒，还要用你的爱来胜过它。感谢你藉着耶稣向我们显明爱的道路。阿们。

马太福音 5:21-26

21“你们听见有吩咐古人的话说：‘不可杀人’，又说：‘凡杀人的难免受审判。’
22只是我告诉你们，凡向弟兄动怒的，难免受审判；凡骂弟兄是拉加的，难免公会的审断；凡骂弟兄是魔利的，难免地狱的火。
23所以，你在祭坛上献礼物的时候，若想起弟兄向你怀怨，
24就把礼物留在坛前，先去同弟兄和好，然后来献礼物。
25你同告你的对头还在路上，就赶紧与他和息，恐怕他把你送给审判官，审判官交付衙役，你就下在监里了。
26我实在告诉你：若有一文钱没有还清，你断不能从那里出来。

In Christ, Love Conquers Hate

"Anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. . . . Anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell." - Matthew 5:22

We have a natural tendency to hate or ignore God and our neighbor. We tell ourselves we are good people. But our selfishness and anger lie just below the surface. Anger often erupts in violent, hateful words and actions. If we don’t seem angry, it may just mean that our anger has not yet reached its boiling point or had an opportunity to erupt. In fact, we may be seething with inner anger.

Strictly following the command “You shall not murder” is not enough to overcome hatred. We must address the source of that sin. If we keep our anger from boiling over, we do well. But to gain mastery over anger, we need love. And showing love, especially toward people who have hurt us, does not come naturally. In fact, only the supernatural love of Christ can overcome the hatred we may feel for our enemies.

When the Romans and the Jews hatefully killed Jesus Christ, he could have called on God’s army of angels to stop and destroy them (see Matthew 26:52-53). But instead he responded in love, asking the Father to forgive them. When Jesus gave himself for us on the cross, he certainly obeyed the law—do not kill. But he did far more: he fulfilled the greatest law of love.

Prayer

O God, help us not to add to the anger in our world today. Help us not only to control our anger but also to overcome it with your love. And thank you for showing us the way of love, through Jesus. Amen.