Gateway Lawbreaking

How good are you at following the law?

And if you bend or break it, what kind of example are you setting for others?

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.- Matthew 5:19

I overheard a conversation at my grandson's baseball game regarding the legalization of marijuana.  The argument was that it should be legal because it is not a gateway drug.

In other words, it does not lead to the use of other drugs, though the illegal behavior, more than the drug itself, may lead to experimentation in other illegal substances.

I can understand that logic.  Make it legal so it will not taint people with the knowledge of a crime and make them immune to following other laws.

That approach could work for the little laws Jesus was talking about.  If we legalize them, we don't have to worry about breaking them.

Some Christians believe that is what we have done by modernizing our stand on a whole host of issues from gay marriage to abortion.  So my question is simple.

Are we in good stead with God when we bring his commandments up to date with changing times?

I believe this is the question at the heart of so many conflicts today, from Police shootings to terrorism.  Some people feel the law ia the law and should never be changed.  To change it is to break it.

Others find the laws outdated, applying to a people and time no longer relevant.  You could argue that was Paul's argument as well.  So, where do we stand?

Do we take this statement of Jesus and use it as our guide, or do we listen to Paul who said the old laws were for us when we were immature and now only have one law, to love God and love our neighbors.

While we can hang all the laws of the prophets on that one, we may be bending and twisting that to suit our own needs.

When we modify one, it opens the gate to modify all.

So, I leave you with this?  How are we doing in God's eyes?  Are we maturing and becoming more accepting of each other through love, abandoning the abuse of the law, or are we making life easier for ourselves?

I guess we need to pray about that and hope we chose the right path.

More to come...