Living in the Spirit
June 16, 2022
Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:23-29
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
I am aware of originally good-intentioned laws, that are now bad laws. They are almost impossible to remove because they have become norms. Oklahoma has a burdensome law that taxes cannot be raised without a 75% vote from the legislature in support of the increase. Attaining that super majority vote is nearly impossible. While there is no limitation on cutting taxes. Tax idealogues are in control resulting in Oklahoma’s rankings being very low among other states in the provision of crucial state services that are not being provided. Our education system is among the services being hurt by a lack of adequate funding. Civil laws are intended to define and protect the Common Good, not protect the rights of one group’s financial doctrine over another. Thus, moral law must be considered in establishing civil law.
Moral law is a system of guidelines for behavior. These guidelines may or may not be part of a religion, codified in written form, or legally enforceable. For some people moral law is synonymous with the commands of a divine being. For others, moral law is a set of universal rules that should apply to everyone*.
The Bible is one source of civil law established for events happening in the time it describes. Eating pork was avoided because at one time they did not know what trichinosis was, how to recognize it, or how to prevent its devastation other than avoiding pork altogether. The Bible also records moral laws that stand the test of time in general, guiding the standards needed for society to function successfully. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may break some international laws or covenants. The slaughter of innocent children and others surely is against the moral law.
The Ten Commandments are moral laws that have been muted over time. Lying, idolatry—particularly the worship of money, and adultery all have lost their strength in supporting morally healthy communities and thus a morally healthy world. While laws and rules not found in scripture hold dominance over being a practicing Christian, for example, white supremacy.
Determining what is moral involves discerning and practicing what is just. We seem to have lost our way regarding justice. We will never attain justice until we are able to give up the idols of greed, lust for power, and bigotry that are now our guiding lights.
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see the harm we do to one another by not taking the time to deepen our understanding of your way, your truth, and your life**. Amen.
*https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Moral+Law#:~:text=Moral%20law%20is%20a%20system,that%20should%20apply%20to%20everyone.
**Derived from John 14:6
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.