Instruction 6 says "no murder".
We understand murder as the "illegal, intentional, and malicious killing of another person. Clearly, a free life in a community is only possible if we are not constantly fearing for our lives.
While "no murder" does make allowance for accidents, war and capitial punishment, it does place a high value on human life - a new concepts for a people who has only know slavery where a person is nothing more than easily replaceable labour.
But more than just a high value for life, it is also an assertion that since life is God-given, then only God can decides who lives and who dies. In other words, outside of narrowly defined situations (like war and capital punishment), we have to respect another person as a human made by God, warts and all, and we don't get to decide to do away with them.
There is likely no one reading this who has committed or planned a murder. So it is helpful to consider what Jesus says about murder in Matthew 5:22 - that anyone who hates his brother is subject to the same judgement as a murderer.
This doesn't mean that someone who's thought about murder is already guilty of murder. Jesus' point is that all of us at one time or another is guilty of usurping God by thinking that another person is not worthy to live. That while all of us may easily read the 6th instruction and think "this one I've kept," in fact, we may be guilty of it unknowingly.
The 6th instruction is not just about the killing of another person. It is also about respecting another person's right to life, regardless of how we feel about them.
Write
Think about your faith story: what experiences shape your value of human life?
Presently, who are the people and their circumstances that move you? Which people group and their circumstances anger you?
Who do you know has been labelled as "not worthy of life"?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your attitudes towards others and their right to life Thank God for the way he honours and gives life, even to people who fail and sin against his values.
Pray about the people who have to fight for their life, and people you judge as not worthy of life. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to be an advocate of life.
Pray for the person you know who is deemed unworthy to live. Ask God to give you the wisdom and opportunity to walk with them and show them their high value in Christ.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way God gives and honours life, and the way God uses you to be an advocate of life.