The hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he has offered a sacred service to God. - John 16:1The comments today talk about conscience. Religious fanatics who kill for their religion have existed for a long time, from the famous Crusades, the Spanish Inquisitions, to ISIS and terrorist groups today. Their acts clearly violate the thinking of the One they claim to be doing all of this for. Exodus 20:13 clearly says, "You must not murder."
Yes, Israel fought the people in Canaan under God's direction, but Jehovah is The True Judge. If he decides a people should be wiped out, it is His perfect judgement that decides that.
Taking it upon ourselves to be the judges and executioners of others due to the "sins against you" is wrong. When we've been shown contempt or discrimated against or put down or treated as an inferior or oppressed by dominant people, learn to maintain self-control and leave it with Jehovah, who will judge righteously and perfectly.
The comments encourage us to carefully and diligently study God's Word, and meditate on the lessons we learn from it. If we train our consciences toe accept Jehovah's thoughts and feelings, we will not be switching from one extreme to the other.
The other day, I saw several headlines on Yahoo that illustrate the world's conscience. One headline described a biracial woman being set on fire in her car. She didn't die, but was hospitalized. The police are investigating this as a hate crime. In another headline, an episode of The Office TV show was edited to remove a "blackface performance" because it was racist. So, it's clear that most people's conscience is either too sensitive or too calloused.
It's important to obtain and reflect Jehovah's thinking. We will be more balanced and reasonable people if we do so.
Stay safe!
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