Some people make a great claim on righteousness. They can tell you of all the good deeds they accomplish and all the evil they avoid. They generally speak of things that are either done or left undone. While it is certainly commendable to do good and to abstain from evil actions, there is another layer to righteousness that often goes overlooked.
Jesus spoke five times in Matthew 5 contrasting the Law of Moses with the new way of viewing the commandments that He was imparting to His disciples. Moses had instructed the people to avoid wrongdoing (i.e. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, etc.). Jesus tells His disciples it is not enough to avoid wrong action, but rather we must eliminate even the desire for wrong action. Many a person can say they have never committed murder, but how many can say they have never been angry with their fellow man? Most people never commit adultery physically, but how many can say they have never entertained impure thoughts?
To free ourselves of evil thoughts we must stay busy in good works and continually focus our minds on holy things. If we can fill our minds with good things we will by necessity have less opportunity for evil.
Let us strive to keep not merely the letter of the Law which can be met, but to continually yearn to keep the Spirit of the Law which is limitless.
(Thanks to William Barclay's Commentary on Matthew for the source of these thoughts.)
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