Jesus replied, "And
you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens
they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help
them." (Luke 11:46 NIV)
We are in the midst of
primary elections around the county. These elections include offices all the
way from local community offices to Federal positions. To a certain degree we
will be electing leaders to make important decisions for us based on a bit of fake
news; a lot of bitter back-biting; nasty, nasty attacks on the opponents. Who
can tell which law-makers are best for the positions? As they make decisions
they will either instigate, legislate, or enforce new laws stacked upon the old
laws supposedly for the sake of justice; for doing what is best for the people.
Too often these decisions will be made based on what lobbyists want for
themselves or their specific business or cause and not what is actually good
for communities or the country as a whole. Egos and greed seem to rule the day.
Unfortunately, John
Adams appears to have been perfectly correct when he stated, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
We have an outstanding
constitution in this country. However, there are some who think that it should
be done away with or at the least drastically changed. They consider it
archaic. For an unrighteous nation who needs law upon law to live; maybe it is
inadequate. So do we do away with the constitution or do we, as a nation,
decide to attempt to live by the righteousness of Christ rather than trusting
in these multitudes of laws that we have created to serve justice? For those
who believe that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins the law has been
put into our hearts and written upon our minds. St. Paul wrote to the Hebrews
(10:15-16)
The Holy Spirit also
testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on
their minds.”
If this would be true for the world, we would
have no need for the cost of making law upon law in every corner of the world
and the burden that comes about because of these countless laws.
Jesus condemned the teachers of the law, the Pharisees, for loading people down
with laws that they could hardly keep. The law that God gave to Moses was not
enough. They and we seem to have to add to the laws; to micro-manage society.
It is difficult to keep the law when there are
so many that one cannot even know what they all are. I am not just talking
about traffic or criminal laws. I am also considering all the laws, the red-tape
that comes with daily living; red-tape that goes with building a new home;
running a family business; even purchasing insurance. Yes, you have to have all
your ducks in a row to even file a claim on insurance you may have been paying
on for years. The average person is just trying to earn a living and to live
life. But, the burdens that come with so much red-tape take up much of the time
that we would otherwise have to live life.
There are way too many
rules and regulations to follow. Who can know them all? Sadly, that is the
price we pay for living in an unrighteous world. Justice will not happen by
making more laws in a lawless world. Justice will only happen when the law and
the love of God is written upon our hearts.
God's Peace – Pr. J
