Broken Pot

 

If you happen to break a clay pot in the market, the potter will get angry and demand compensation for the damage. In truth, man is also made of the same cheap material as the pot, but what is hidden in him is priceless. It is the soul that creates man from within, and the Spirit of God that gives life to the soul.

If a pot is broken at the market, it is not the pot that is hurt, but the potter who molded it. In the same way, if a person is killed, it is not the person killed who feels the pain, but the Lord God, who created man, raised him up, and breathed His Spirit into him.

So if the one who broke the pot must compensate the potter, then all the more must the murderer compensate God for the life he took. Even if people do not demand compensation, God will. Murderer, do not deceive yourself: even if people forget your crime, God cannot forget. Look, there are things that even God cannot forget. For example, He cannot forget your crime. Remember this always, remember it in your anger, before you grab a knife or a gun.

On the other hand, we cannot kill life. To kill life completely would be to kill God, for life belongs to God. Who can kill God? You can break a pot, but you cannot destroy the clay from which it was made. Likewise, you can crush a person's body, but you cannot break, burn, scatter, or spill his soul and his spirit.

Saint Nicholai Velimirovic . Explanation of the Ten Commandments, Commandment 6