54 - More on the Pilgrimage - "law" (2)

Realize that I am certainly not dismissing LAW at all - in fact I am embracing it fully. God wishes it to be UNDER us - not us under law. That is part of the original concept given to Adam and Eve of "take dominion over the earth and subdue it". VERY challenging thing to subdue the earth - but even more challenging to do it correctly. First thing they did was give it all to Satan. The result was - they HURT the earth. And - we still reap from that - not just thistles and pain in childbirth either, but the TOUGH task of subduing the earth, period. That's one reason why farming is not respected in our society and the focus is only on production instead of working with the earth to be a blessing to ourselves and the world. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet - but I do believe insights are happening which will almost demand a return to proper farming and natural production of grains and other plants, as well as livestock which are produced carefully and correctly. But - I digress.

LAW is simply structure for life and protection for community. Law is meant to serve as a way to have order and to live practically. Many stories have been told of situations which emphasize the need of a law for general efficient lifestyles and structure for our interdependence with each other - like respecting the community "well" - to have fresh and clean water for that need. OR - simply to respect your neighbor's "well" so he can have clean water. MANY wars of the smaller variety have been fought over something relating to WATER. Apply that to food, or general well-being or the multifaceted parts of our lives - and you have the story of LIFE. Abuses of the concept include over-hunting or fishing; over use of land without replenishing; and we could go on - but the LAW is - know your situation and plan for the future - that is SUBDUING THE EARTH. That LAW is meant to SERVE YOU, as are all laws. Why do we have a certain number on our roads call "Speed-limits"? To serve you to know what is the maximum drivable speed to be harmonious with others - but we all realize that a faster speed may be demanded by an Ambulance (or even by US) to save someone's life - so we allow that as part of our code of structure. That is simply HOW law is supposed to work.

I haven't seen anyone lately lose their citizenship or life because they were going 71 in a 70mph zone. However, most of us have been reminded a time or two to be careful about how quickly we go from point "A" to point "B". The Policeman was trying to help us have a practical lifestyle which doesn't endanger others. That is how LAW is supposed to operate. (OK - I know we should have exceptions for each of us - so we don't HAVE to pay the fine - right?)

Biblical LAW is much the same. Problem is - most Bible readers take on a different mindset when it comes to LAW. They become like a "gung-ho" Policeman who becomes an over-zealous enforcer of LAWS which were never intended to RULE us, but only to SERVE us. All of that because we have a hard time living practically with law serving us. One of our first responses - "Where do we draw the line?" Well - the answer is - make sure law SERVES us. Bible people are OUTRAGED at the idea - after all, "it means what it says and says what it means" - so DO IT.

Why do we act in this way? Simply - we are not taught to THINK. The concept of "DO IT" isn't for adult humans generally - it is for little children who don't realize safety concepts and animals who don't understand most human concepts. However - us Psychologists know that a whole group of people think that way "naturally" - they aren't conceptual people - they only know what we call "black and white" conceptual constructs. Some are taught to live that way - religiously we might call them "legalists" but in truth they are simply misusing LAW. We've all run into people who had a "Triple doctorate" in etiquette and who just went ballistic over every little thing everyone else did which VIOLATED their sense of CORRECTNESS- even to quoting chapter and verse of the Queen of etiquette - Emily Post. It can get so egregious that a person who just doesn't know all these nuances cannot enjoy eating or even partake in any semblance of PEACE. So - see the exaggeration - not the simple concept - etiquette was originally meant to communicate what was thought of as "civilized ways of life".

What happened? A serving concept became a RULING concept. So, as legitimate as the "rule" could have been, when it becomes a non-serving and rigid overlord, it violates the original place in life it was patterned for and the original influence it was designed to have.

God set up "rules" to have a civilized community. And - don't forget, the community already existed to which the rules were to apply. God was simply structuring HIS community which means that on our own, we don't always act civilized. Add to that, after the FALL, we all want to be GOD in our lives AND others - and structure is not only needed, but demanded. So - the tendency to make LAWS rule over us is normal - even if we should see them as practical and serving. Jesus saw the Pharisees tended to abuse the concept by using human reason to make application of law - their focus was "how to avoid breaking them in any way" - thereby inserting human thought into God's principles for life - and religion has ALWAYS done that. The word Sabbath means REST - but they found all kinds of way to get around the original design of God - but they still felt they weren't breaking the Sabbath command. So - just THINKING about it may not get the job done correctly. In fact, it can lead to TOTAL ABUSE of the practical nature of the original dream. More to come