Scripture – Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Easy to Read Version
1We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong in that freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again.
13 My brothers and sisters, God chose you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful selves. Instead, serve each other with love. 14 The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor[a] the same as you love yourself.”[b] 15 If you continue hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.
16 So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants. 17 The sinful self wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the sinful self. They are always fighting against each other, so that you don’t do what you really want to do. 18 But if you let the Spirit lead you, you are not under law.[c]
19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things, 20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups, 21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom. 22 But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
From Tammy Smits
The spirit of the law vs the letter of the law is a debate that was much discussed in our house when my girls were younger. If I gave instructions to be followed and there was a loophole to be found, one of them would inevitably find it and exploit it, usually to the chagrin of the other two. There would be a dissection of what was “said” vs what was “meant” and I would have to decree at the end whether there was a big enough difference between the two to issue consequences for a job not done properly or give grudging kudos to the child who thought around corners better than I did when I created the instructions.
Apparently, this is an age-old issue. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written because Paul believed that Jesus’ preaching extended to all people and gave freedom from the constrictions of the old ways (spirit of the law) and a faction of people in Galatia believed true Christianity was only found by specifically following the Laws of Moses (letter of the law).
Vast amounts of time have been spent by millions of people deciphering what is said in the Bible and then gleaning what is actually meant by it. Multiple versions and different translations add extra layers of complexity. How are we supposed to know what God truly wants from us?
I have to admit, I agree with Paul on this one. No matter what the letter of the law says, I choose to believe that God always wants us to love our neighbours, to be kind, good, humble and practice self-control. People are not inherently evil, but sometimes it’s easier and more satisfying to be jealous, to hold grudges, and to ease your own burden at the expense of others. It’s hard to choose the high road even when we know it is what God wants. Look at the headlines these past few weeks – there are a few world leaders who could use a reminder from Paul that putting aside the vanity, the jealousy, the ambition and the anger is the path to peace and prosperity, and to continue tearing at each other will only cause destruction of each other.
Although the writers of the Bible may have left some loopholes, if people let God’s spirit guide their hearts and actions, they will get the answers they are looking for. Hopefully God gets as much amusement out of watching us debate the loopholes as I did watching my children.
Contemplation and Conversation
How are we supposed to know what God truly wants from us?
Prayer
God, help us to not get caught up in the petty details and short-sighted issues that can be so consuming. Remind us of the bigger picture – that choosing love, kindness, patience, joy and peace is always the path to You. Amen.
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