The Christian Thread

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   The whole section where Jesus either clarifies or updates the law is a challenging piece of scripture. The following is the hardest:
²²But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, `Raca,' shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, `Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire. 
 ²³Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 
 ²⁴leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 
 ²⁵"Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art on the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Literally, one can be subject to judgment to hell for anger against a neighbor...a parallel is that you are just as guilty of adultery for lust as committing the act.

To all these things I will say only one thing that is indeed a personal experience. Many people speak of justice as an ideal. As this passage and others hint at, none of us wants to subject to true justice. In fact, God (or fate or the Universe or however) has afforded most of us much much better than justice. Why? One explanation is that the Universe is benevolent, i.e. God loves us. And the aforementioned passage seems to say, rather than relying on the courts, i.e. justice to resolve your differences, try to make amends in a way satisfactory to both parties. Furthermore, until you resolve things in this way, you are not ready to be a follower of Jesus.

I have been given far better than justice in this life, and for that I am grateful. I must find it within myself to then extend that type of giving to others "better than justice."