Eric Butterworth Metamorality: The Sixth Commandment

"You shall not kill" (Exodus 20:13).

In any discussion of the problems of the world or of our society, sooner or later someone will say smugly, "Well, if people would just obey the Ten Commandments . . ." It is the great cliché! For who knows them, or really understands their implications in modern times?

A good illustration of the hypocrisy of the "live by the Ten Commandments" platitude is the sixth commandment: "You shall not kill." Four words, plain and simple, no qualifications. Does the frenetic advocate of the Decalogue keep this commandment and accept its implications unequivocally? No killing at all . . . no destruction of life of any kind . . . no eating meat . . . no killing insects . . . no killing in self-defense . . . no capital punishment . . . no war.

Suddenly our "back to the Ten Commandments" man runs for cover. Then begins his array of rationalizations: "But we must eat meat to get sufficient protein . . . and actually Jesus ate meat. We have a right to kill in self-defense. Society has a right to kill offenders. A nation has a right to kill enemies in war." Of course he deplores war (and it is interesting that generals are among the greatest deplorers), but he has no doubt that God is on the side of the "just nation."

Where does all this leave the commandment, "You shall not kill"? We are left with the inescapable conclusion that no one really takes it literally. Practically everyone, if pressed on the issue, would insist that under certain circumstances it is right and proper to kill. While there are those who flout the commandments, we must face up to the fact that even those who "keep" them do not really believe them or practice them in their lives.

For instance, "You shall not kill" has been an enigma to the whole world of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism for thousands of years. Certainly, the most ferocious and brutal of wars have been religious wars under these banners. The Christians have even glorified warfare by singing "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war." .

Yes . . . it would be a wonderful world if people just followed the Ten Commandments! But the problem is not that we make an earnest effort to follow them and fail, but that when it comes right down to specifics, such as "You shall not kill," we simply interpret them as we want. And we turn away from the issue conveniently, offering the rationalistic concept of Ecclesiastes 3:3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.

In retrospect, and in the hindsight that has led to the conclusion that the last war was futile, many persons are now wondering how we could have been so resistant to war resisters, and to movements promoting nonviolence . . . and how we could have so blindly covered our transparent abandonment of the sixth commandment with the cry of patriotism. There are many lessons to be learned from these national and personal experiences. Are we willing to look honestly at them and learn from them?

It is interesting how many arguments are set forth against such things as gun control—even though guns are made to kill. If there is anything that symbolizes the willful breach of the letter of the sixth commandment, it is a gun. No matter that it is reserved for hunting or for self-defense, it is, and it was intended to be, a lethal weapon. Needless to say, the vast majority of murders are done, not by criminals after premeditation, but by average persons, even churchgoers who swear by the Ten Commandments. The killing is done on the spur of the moment, and a handy gun simply "spurs the moment."

Without a doubt the sixth commandment has been the basis for the myriad legal codes and moral restraints that have produced the cultural awareness we call "civilization." But we must admit that compliance with this emphatic command has been extremely selective.

Some persons, especially the most traditional religionists, may be shocked at my repeated suggestion that we need to learn, not how to keep the commandments, but how to "break" them. As I have pointed out, the concept is not at all original. Jesus was the great iconoclast, seeking to break down the commandments, codes, and observances into a more relevant and practical form. For instance He said: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:21, 22).

Instead of trying to narrow the sixth commandment into the strict ethical sense of who can be killed and who can kill, Jesus broadened the application into the whole area of destructive tendencies of mind. Jesus was like a wily prosecutor who allowed you no room to evade issues, no place to hide. There is no way, in his concept of "You shall not kill," for anyone to sit back and, clucking his tongue, say, "Yes, if they would just obey, we would have a good world!" With Jesus, it was never them, only you!

Jesus said, further: "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also . . ." (Matthew 5:38, 39). This deals with the basic human desire for revenge. Jesus' ideal was the power transcendence. You may not be able to change the outer situation, but you can always rise above it by turning to a higher level of consciousness. We tell our children, "There is a little me' and a 'great me' in all of us." The "little me" reacts in anger and seeks revenge. The "great me" is always established in love and poise. Turn the other cheek. Turn from hostility to love.

The Orientals have a wise saying: "You may not be able to keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building nests in your hair." Things may happen around you and even to you, but if they "get under your skin" it is because you have permitted them to happen within you.

Jesus also said: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father . . ." (Matthew 5:43-45). To have an enemy is to have enmity. This is always the focus of the problem. Your feelings of enmity frustrate the flow of love. He said that you should love them and bless them so that you can reestablish your oneness with the divine flow.

In ancient Egypt there was a Pharaoh who had this insight into love and nonresistance well ahead of his time. It was the time-honored custom of putting to death all captured soldiers. However, he would talk with them, forgive them, and release them. His critics were incensed and on the verge of rebellion. His response: "What, do I not destroy my enemies when I love them?"

Divine law is inexorable in its function. It is supportive if we understand it and keep within its right action. However, because it is law and not caprice, there is a swift comeback in consciousness and experience if we resist it. It is vitally important that every person realize this basic function of the universe. If we are angry with someone, no matter what he may have done or how we may defend our "righteous indignation," we reap the effects in our minds, bodies, and affairs . . . and often swiftly.

This goes to the crux of all so-called justifiable murder, such as war or capital punishment. The principle is, "The incident is external, the reaction is our own." We may seek retaliation or vengeance for what others have done. We may want to punish them. But how we deal with them is an activity of our consciousness. There is always a price to pay! If any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain! (Revelation 13:10).

Whenever a criminal is executed on the gallows or in a gas chamber, some persons may feel very right about it, or at least think that it is a necessary deterrent to further crime. However, in the process of "killing by the sword" every member of the society that condones it is degraded, and there is a rip in the fabric of society as a whole. By the law of consciousness the "kill" state of mind will simply set into force a new wave of negative vibrations, which create the environment in which more criminals and killers are spawned.

As long as societies wage war, no matter what the provocation or holy cause, those societies are projecting a negative energy causation that will continue to come back upon those same societies. As long as societies promote and use instruments of force and of killing, we are in the spirit of war and we will constantly draw to ourselves war situations. In debates on disarmament, there is usually a frantic cry, "We need weapons to defend ourselves!" A logical argument, but a logic that leads to the "eye for an eye" attitude that always justifies entrance into war. A new kind of transcendental logic is needed, a new application of metamorality. It is time to create new concepts of international law. Violence between individuals is a misdemeanor in most societies, but violence between nations is war with laws to regulate how it shall be conducted. It is like demanding "humane" means of employing capital punishment. Or setting down rules for stealing . . . how much one may steal and at what time of the day or night.

If we can ban chemical and germ warfare, why should we not outlaw bombs and even guns? If we can establish international rules for the conduct of wars, we surely can agree on rules for the maintenance of peace. Of course, first we will have to take seriously the sixth commandment, to admit that killing, all killing, breaks universal law and sets up forces of causation that will inexorably bring more problems for humankind. When will we learn . . . and begin to wage peace as relentlessly as we sometimes wage war?

The physical act of violence that leads to killing is really an attempt to destroy something that appears to be a threat to the person. We are vindictive to the killer, not because he had killing thoughts, but only that he did not control them. Actually, we condone killing thoughts in ourselves. One might say, "I could kill him for that!" Of course he would say, "But I really didn't mean it literally." And yet Jesus leaves no room for explanations. He says if you are angry at someone, you have already broken the "you shall not kill" commandment. In consciousness you have already put yourself at cross-purposes with the law.

How do we change the pattern? First, by getting a deeper awareness of the sixth commandment: "You shall not kill." It is a restraining wall that a wise society has used to keep people in line. It is like "No Smoking" and "Keep Off the Grass." But remember, as Moses set them forth, the commandments are not merely prohibitions, but statements of divine law that are phrased in the "you shall not" language for the spiritually immature. It is like telling a child, "Do not leave the yard." However, the commandments are not intended to say, "You had better be good or God will punish you!" Instead, they are saying, "Don't delude yourself. You cannot break the law . . . simply because it is law. If you try to break it, you break yourself upon it."

The higher meaning of the sixth commandment is "You cannot kill." Your violent acts or thoughts relative to that which seems to threaten you is your attempt to destroy it. Actually, there is no way that you can destroy it, because the 'real problem is your mistaken belief. Jesus said that a man's enemies are those of his own household—in other words the thoughts of his own mind. The only way you can destroy the enemy is through love—changing the level of your thinking. The true enemy is your enmity, which can be corrected only by you and in you.

The person who is always angry at the world is really angry within and at himself. Psychiatrists say that most people who do violent things are acting out of paranoia, and the problems and the supposed "enemies" are essentially the creation of their own imagination.

There are people who start lashing out at the world as soon as they get up in the morning . . . and they keep the battle going all day long. First, they grumble about the weather, then they find fault with their wives, husbands, children, or inlaws. On their way to work they push and shove on buses, subways, and commuter trains . . . or lean on their horns in the continuous traffic jams. In conversation they complain about the high cost of living, taxes, the stock market, and last night's terrible television shows. During coffee breaks they collect in clans to gossip about Bill's ex-girlfriend or Hilda's new hair-do. Then at five o'clock there is a repeat of the scramble for seats and the fight for the right-of-way. And through it all there are many violent thoughts, such as, "That just kills me" and "I could kill him" . . . and so very much of the kind of anger that Jesus said is breaking the sixth commandment.

It all comes from the delusive feeling that things "out there" can hurt you or take away that which is yours. This is your own paranoia, which may be quite subtle. The sixth commandment implies that nothing exterior to you can harm you or hinder you, except as you give it entrance into your mind. Here it becomes self-destructive and emotionally, physically, and even financially frustrating. Remember, it is your mind, no matter that you are angry or bitter about something that happened to you. If it happens in you, it is due to your reaction.

No one can hurt your character, destroy your peace of mind, or make you angry. People and conditions can and often do provide you with many opportunities for inner turmoil and self-pity. But if you succumb to the temptation, it is because, either by habit or conscious choice, you have determined that this is the way you are going to meet it. You cannot do much about the things out there that we often go to war inwardly and outwardly over; but you can work on the thoughts you hold about them. You can get a greater consciousness of love and harmony. You can "agree with your adversary" because the only true adversary is the adverse reactions to people or conditions in your mind. The word agree comes from a root word that means to be "well-tninded." When you become "well-minded" in the face of chaotic things, they will begin to dissolve.

Many persons waste their lives thinking how they are being hurt, held back, or damaged by others. They feel that other people are standing in their way, and "how good it would be" if it were not for some person or organization or nation. As long as they think like this, they are standing in their own way. When we really catch the spirit and the Truth of “you cannot kill," we are free to be and do what we want.

The greatest lessons can often be learned from the lowliest expressions of life. Consider the lowly oyster. Grains of sand work themselves into its shell and irritate it. It tries to get rid of them. When it cannot do so, it settles down and produces one of the most beautiful things in the world. It turns its irritation into a pearl. When something is irritating you and causing a reaction of anger, just remember that it is totally impractical and uneconomical to indulge in the kind of killing thoughts that will eventually come back on you. Solve your irritation in a simple way: get busy pearling.

Realize that the reaction proves that there is something out of order in your consciousness. Bless the person who appears to have caused it for showing you where your weak point is. Then get to work agreeing with your adversary, knowing that the adversary is the adverse thoughts of your mind. Turn the other cheek to a manner that is well-minded. Get back in the flow . . . with a right attitude toward yourself and life. Get busy pearling.