Reports of murders in families are on the rise, indicating Kenyan families are at crossroads.
Though murder is documented in the Bible, we do not have an account of a husband who killed his own wife, leave alone a wife killing her husband. It was improbable, unheard of, and points to the lowest the human race has come with evil.
As early as in Genesis, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. No wonder in Exodus he lays a clear roadmap on how human beings were to live and conduct themselves. ‘Thou shalt not kill’ is the sixth Commandment given by God in the Book of Exodus Chapter 20.
Today we have cases in court of fathers who have allegedly killed their children and spouses who are accused of killing their partners.
The bottom line is that every society has beliefs and practices that guide a people’s way of life. Kenya is said to be 80 percent Christian and ideally should be guided by Christian values, beliefs and practices.
The Bible lays out how people should relate and live with each other. In marriage, for instance, wives are charged to submit to their husbands, as unto the Lord. “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body.”
The problem is that the modern woman would want to reverse this directive and the net effect is evident for all to see. While the biblical woman submitted and was never killed, the modern woman is rebellious and seeks to challenge the authority of man leading to ugly scenes, including murders.
Apostle Peter, writing in the new Testament, exhorts wives to submit to their husbands as a way of life and testimony of their faith. “For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God lived. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.” I join Peter is saying to our women that, “You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”
Likewise, the husbands are to love their wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. If a husband gives himself sacrificially for his wife, there is no way they will murder them. In fact, the husband will take the place of the wife when a mistake is committed just like Jesus became for us a ransom taking our place on the cross.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies because he that loves his wife loves himself and so cannot kill her as it amounts to killing self!
The Bible says when the two marry, they become one flesh. They are members of the same body, flesh of his flesh, bones of his bones and so killing your wife is just ridiculous.
As I conclude, I am reminded of the words of Apostle Paul, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath." God had earlier on warned us that we should not kill the innocent or the righteous, for He will not acquit the guilty.
The most interesting revelation in the Bible is that there were murders but there is none recorded between spouses. No husband ever killed wife nor vice versa according to biblical accounts. This could be attributed to strict code of conduct in family settings which gladly our Christian patriarchs and matriarchs adhered to.
Albert Einstein once said that the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but those who watch them without doing anything. This is to say that all that is required for evil to prevail is for the good men to do nothing. Parents, churches, leaders and, most importantly, the government and her agencies have a role to play in stopping murders in families. Indeed, you and I should do something and it's my proposal that we go back to the biblical basics of family relations.
God was clear that those who murder will be liable to court; 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment' Matthew 5:21, and since the law exists for the wrongdoers, we encourage the law enforcers to uphold the rules and regulations in relation to murders to serve as a deterrent to those who are violating the set standard when it comes to family conduct.
Comms Manager, CMS-Africa – an autonomous Christian organisation with roots in the old Church Missionary Society
