It is
expected of every citizen and guest in our country. Obey the laws of the land. We
tend to obey some as a matter of convenience, as in highway speed limits. In
spite of our sometimes appeal to grace in such cases, we feel society has a
much better chance of staying civilized if everyone obeys the laws, liked or
not.
Some laws
were passed we now know did not contribute to a healthy society. We have also
seen laws overturned or rejected because later legislatures or courts felt
those laws were not beneficial to the citizenry. Every generation has battled
with what constitutes a legal system that promotes the best culture for society
as a whole. Each generation has had to define the absolutes that would be the
foundation for a healthy society.
Our three
branch government was designed to help the citizenry reach the best set of laws
for the country with the least amount of bloodshed. The American Civil War
showed even then it was not always possible. Yet we still believe a strong
executive branch working in conjunction with a strong legislative branch
subject to a fair and independent judicial branch will in the long run give us
a society offering the most benefit to the most people. Nonetheless, as Martin
Luther King, Jr. has said, “America is a dream.” It is a work still in process.
Jesus
declared the laws of God would be valid as long as time endures. (Matthew
5:17-19) Jesus and the Pharisees both had high views of the Law, but the
friction came when the purpose of the Law was expressed. The best examples were
the laws surrounding the observance of the Sabbath.
One of the
Ten Commandments, honoring the Sabbath, was seen in Jewish history as a sign of
the covenant between God and his people. (Exodus 31:16-17) Countless secondary
laws were generated to explain and protect the holiness of the seventh day. The
legalistic Pharisees saw these laws as protecting the holiness of the Law and the
holiness of God.
Jesus turned
all this upside down when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for
the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28) As important as it was to honor the day acknowledging
God as Creator of all that exists, Jesus still insisted the law could not stand
in the way of doing what was right.
Rather than
pointing to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy
5), Jesus said there were two greater commandments that superseded these ten
words. These two revolved around the concept of love as defined by the nature
of God. (Matthew 22:35-40) Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
Obedience to
the law in the eyes of Jesus must begin with a recognition God deserves our
first and our best. As such we acknowledge his authority over everything else.
It is not a matter of saying, “Hey, God, we love you,” and then go do what we
want. Recognizing God for who he is translates into a mindset, a value system,
and a lifestyle that say all we do is designed to honor the One who created us
and loved us first. (I John 4:10-12, 19)
Jesus
refused to allow this first and greatest commandment to stand alone without
outward expression. Your neighbor must be the recipient of a love defined by
how God has taught you to love yourself. God loved you enough to allow his Son
to die in your place as the punishment for your sins instead of you catching
the penalty. To love your neighbor in such a way is far more than just making
sure you keep your dogs out of his roses!
Jesus told a
parable of one who lived out the law of loving one’s neighbor. In that brief
story the main character risked everything to help one who in a reverse
situation would have rejected him. (Luke 10) That is loving your neighbor – help
even those who would not help you.
Obey the
law. Obey the right laws and you won’t have to worry about the others.
