A nineteen-year-old girl is engaged to a real estate dealer. But the girl did not want to tell her family that she did not want to marry according to her parents’ wishes. She plotted with her boyfriend and killed her would-be husband by pushing him off a cliff. (NDTV 27 June 2026) By calling off the wedding, she did not want to hurt her influential family’s sentiments but could murder an innocent person. Will not murder hurt the sentiments and bring shame to the family?
Family sentiments: The girl was concerned about sentiments, which meant love, a sense of belonging, complexity, and loyalty. For her, loyalty was a superior value to the value of a person’s life.
Family oppression: There was a Trust deficit in the family. Parents publicly said that they were not aware that their daughter did not want to be married. The girl considered murder an easier option than telling the truth to her parents. That shows that the daughter was not able to communicate with her parents, as they were dominating, dictating, directing, and demanding unconditional obedience. Her spirit was suppressed to the point that she felt freedom outside the home with an unusual boldness to plot a murder. The Bible warns that parents should not provoke children to anger and frustration. (Ephesians 6:4)
Murder: “You shall not murder,” is the 6th of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 2013) The paradox is that she was so tender not to hurt the sentiments of family, but so ruthless as to kill an innocent man who in no way harmed her. She could be good to her family, but brutal towards others. Probably, she thought she would not be caught, and she could escape police scrutiny.
Sacrificed: In the altar of the culture of ‘Honor and Shame’, Truth and Righteousness are sacrificed. A culture that shuns truth cannot be righteous, but will become brutal, ruthless, and violent. When there is no teaching: Love your neighbor as yourself, that community will become butchers of one another.
Do I give priority to Truth and Righteousness?