Who Have You Stopped Seeing as a Person?

Most of us probably hear the Sixth Commandment—"You shall not murder"—and immediately think, I'm good. I've never murdered anyone.

But what if Jesus wants us to look deeper?

What if the Sixth Commandment isn't simply about the physical act of taking a life? What if it also challenges the attitudes of our hearts that cause us to stop seeing another person as someone who matters?

Most of us have never wished physical harm on another person. But many of us know what it feels like to become consumed by anger or resentment. We replay conversations. We rehearse arguments. We imagine what we'll say the next time we see someone.

Eventually, we may stop seeing that person as a person. They become a problem. An obstacle. A threat. Someone we'd rather simply go away.

The Sixth Commandment reminds us that every human life is sacred because every person bears the image of God. Jesus takes that commandment even deeper, calling us to confront the anger in our hearts, pursue reconciliation, and even love our enemies.

The question isn't, "Have I murdered anyone?" It's "Who have I stopped seeing as someone made in the image of God?"

Murder Begins Long Before Blood Is Shed

The commandment says, "You shall not murder." Pastor Spencer points out that the biblical word refers specifically to unlawful, intentional killing—not every possible form of taking life. At its heart is a warning against murder that flows from hatred, vengeance, or the belief that another person no longer matters.

Scripture repeatedly shows us how this kind of hatred can grow.

Consider Cain and Abel.

Cain became jealous when Abel's offering was accepted and his was not. Instead of dealing with his jealousy, Cain allowed it to grow. God warned him that sin was "crouching at the door," but Cain didn't overcome it. Eventually, his jealousy led him to kill his brother.

The pattern continues throughout Scripture. Again and again, someone stops seeing another person as a person and begins seeing them as an obstacle, a threat, or a problem to be solved. The physical act may be the final step, but the movement of the heart begins much earlier.

Every Person Bears the Image of God

Why is murder so serious? Because every human being bears the image of God.

From the beginning of Scripture, we are told that God created humanity in His image. That means no human being has the authority to decide that another person's life is disposable. Every life matters. The young and the old. The strong and the weak. The healthy and the suffering.

Every person carries the image of God from beginning to end.

This truth challenges the ways we can become comfortable dismissing people we find difficult.

It challenges us to see beyond someone's politics, personality, choices, or behavior.

It reminds us that before we have any reason to disagree with someone, we must remember who they are: A person made in the image of God.

Jesus Takes the Sixth Commandment into the Heart

Jesus doesn't make the Sixth Commandment easier. He makes it deeper.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that anger and insults matter because they reveal what is happening inside our hearts.

The command isn't simply: Don't murder. Jesus calls us to something more: Don't nurture the anger that writes someone off.

Don't allow resentment to convince you that someone no longer matters. Don't reduce a person to the worst thing they've done. Don't turn someone into an enemy in your mind until they stop being human in your eyes.

Jesus exposes the deeper issue behind murder: the conviction that another person is disposable. And that's a conviction His followers are called to reject.

Reconciliation Matters More Than Religious Performance

Jesus takes this even further by connecting the Sixth Commandment to worship.

He tells His followers that if they are bringing a gift to the altar and remember that someone has something against them, they should leave their gift and first go be reconciled. That's a startling picture. Jesus is essentially saying: Stop. Go make things right. Then come back.

We can sing every song on pitch. We can say "Amen" at all the right moments. We can raise our hands or keep our hands down. We can participate in all the outward expressions of worship. But Jesus refuses to separate our worship of God from our relationships with people.

Reconciliation is more urgent to God than religious performance.

If there is someone we've wronged, Jesus calls us to take the first step. That doesn't guarantee the relationship will be restored. Reconciliation requires two willing people. But Jesus calls us to become people who pursue reconciliation rather than people who write others off.

Love the People You Would Least Like to Love

Jesus doesn't stop with reconciliation.

He tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Why? Because our enemies bear God's image.

Think about the person who comes to mind when you read that. Maybe it's someone who hurt you. Someone whose face appearing on social media makes your stomach turn. Someone whose politics or personality frustrates you. Someone you've quietly decided isn't worth your respect anymore. Someone you've filed away as "the problem."

Jesus reminds us that person is still a person. Still someone God formed. Still someone God loves. Still someone who bears God's image.

This doesn't mean ignoring harm or pretending difficult situations don't exist. It means refusing to let another person's actions erase their humanity.

Jesus calls us to learn how to love even the people we would least like to love.

Ask Yourself: Who Have I Stopped Seeing as God's Image-Bearer?

Pastor Spencer challenges us with a difficult but important question: Who have I stopped seeing as someone who is made in the image of God?

Is there a name that immediately comes to mind? A face? Someone in your family? A former friend? Someone in your church? Someone you don't expect to ever speak to again? Someone whose politics, choices, or personality makes it easy to categorize them as "the problem"?

If someone came to mind, don't ignore it. Pray for them. Stop rehearsing the arguments in your head. Consider what it might take to make things right.

And if the relationship needs mending, consider taking the first step.

You don't have to wait until everything is perfect.

You don't have to find the ideal setting.

You don't have to make sure every detail is lined up.

Just go for it.

The attempt may not lead to reconciliation. But Jesus calls us to be people who pursue it.

Jesus Refused to Treat Us as Disposable

The good news is that we don't have to do this alone.

Every one of us has written someone off. Every one of us has failed to see another person as someone who bears God's image. And that's why we need Jesus.

Because when we treated Him as disposable, He refused to treat us that way. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Even while His enemies mocked Him, nailed Him to the cross, and called for His death, Jesus prayed: "Father, forgive them."

Jesus didn't merely teach reconciliation. He accomplished it. He reconciled us to God.

And now He sends us into the world as people of reconciliation.

The grace we have received becomes the grace we extend.

The reconciliation we've experienced becomes the reconciliation we pursue.

The mercy we've received becomes the mercy we offer.

Refuse to Write People Off

The Sixth Commandment is about more than refusing to take a life. Jesus calls us to refuse to treat anyone as disposable.

Every person bears the image of God. That includes the people we love. It includes the people we struggle to understand. It includes the people who have hurt us. It even includes our enemies.

So ask yourself: Who have I stopped seeing as someone made in the image of God?

If a name comes to mind, take the first step.

Pray. Reach out.

Seek forgiveness. Offer forgiveness.

Pursue reconciliation.

You may not be able to control how the other person responds. But you can choose what kind of person you will be.

Because Jesus has reconciled us to God, we can become people of reconciliation.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to see every person as God sees them:

Sacred.

Valued.

Loved.

Made in His image.

*summary created with help of ChatGPT