Sixth Commandment: Its Positive Aspect

Last night, we came to our study of the Sixth Commandment at Bella Vista Covenant Fellowship. The study focuses on the positive aspect of this command about the sanctity of life and the implied command to respect or value life.  So it does not only say something about the prohibition to take life but also a promotion of life. 

"You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13

Pastor Jeremiah rightly observes that this command gives relief to some people since they don’t murder. They haven’t murdered any person so they think that they have obeyed or fulfilled this commandment. But when we look at it closely and when we hear the whole counsel of God about this command, we will realize that it goes beyond the actual committal of the sin it prohibits.

Taking care of our body is a positive obedience to this command. Neglect to nurture our body is a violation of this command.

The sixth commandments explicitly gives us detail as to how we can fulfill the LORD’s command of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). But it does not only refer to our regard of other people’s lives but of own own. This command is the foundation of the sanctity of life, not only of our neighbors’ but of the life that the LORD gave us.

It promotes healthy lifestyle: Do your best to take care of your body

Paul says that Christians were bought with a price and it follows that we should be mindful of taking care of our bodies. Sleep deprivation, unhealthy diet, undisciplined lifestyle and the list can go on. These are the things that we do that violates the sixth commandment. 

Pastor Jeremiah called it lifestyle disease. Most of the diseases that we get are accumulations of our undisciplined lifestyle. High-blood pressure, heart attack, ulcer, diabetes are some samples of it. We do not deny that there are inherited diseases but our lifestyle may aggravate them and will determine its worst condition. 

Rest and eat well to avoid diseases. Do some exercise if you can. Sleep enough daily. Do not abuse your body. Living this commandment is a call to take care of our bodies. Sometimes we are not being mindful of what we eat or drink. Neglecting our health through eating and drinking carelessly will be a deliberate violation of this command. We should not hurt our bodies for it is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). We should not also expose ourselves to the things that will endanger our health.

God cares about our lives from the time that we were born. Yes, He decreed all things that shall come to pass but it doesn’t remove our responsibility to honor Him through our bodies.

It promotes joyful thoughts: Do your best to nurture of your soul

Nehemiah says the joy of the LORD is our strength (Neh 8:10). Delighting in God’s presence affects our physical bodies and a heart that rejoices in the LORD is a good medicine (Proverbs 17:22).

Aside from taking care of our bodies we also need to be careful on what we feed our minds. Anxiety, depressing thoughts, burst of anger, envy and all kinds of sin of the heart and mind must be avoided. Philippians 4:4-9 is instructive on what we should think about. Paul says with emphasis that we need to rejoice in the LORD, not only every Sunday but always. It must be our lifelong duty to rejoice in the LORD. Only when we rejoice in the LORD we can stop being anxious, be more grateful (v.6), and we will have the peace of God (v.7).  After this comes the exhortation to fill our minds with things that inspire the worship of God in verse 8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

We need to nurture our soul always! According to some medical experts, depression causes sickness it can make you feel sick and cause symptoms like exhaustion, headaches, and aches and pains. So let us have an inventory of our thoughts and feelings daily.

Do not be anxious. Avoid stressful thoughts. Avoid heated disputes. Don’t sink in deep sadness over earthly issues and unresolved problems.

How to avoid sinking in deep anxious thoughts? Every time you think of your problem, pray! Ask God to grant you wisdom to deal with that problem.