Literally!
Sometimes, we take things too literally. For fun, I googled that statement, and came across a website of hilarious examples of people following instructions to literal extremes. The funniest involved the homework of young children, and my personal favorite was a math sheet asking students to name the quadrilaterals. Instead of writing “square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram”, this student had written “Bob, Cate, Harry, and Ted”. While the student had followed directions, she had also completely missed the point. In the same way, as Christians, we are often tempted to focus on the letter of the law, while totally missing the spirit of the law. This is at the heart of a series of statements Jesus makes in the Sermon on the Mount, each beginning with “You have heard it said…” followed by “But I say to you…”. Generally, the letter of the law is much easier to uphold than the spirit behind it.
As Pastor Ben shared last week, the Jews took the commands of Deuteronomy 6 very seriously. The Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”, was and is a centerpiece of morning and evening prayer. Verses immediately following describe the completeness with which the Jews were to incorporate those words and other commands into their lives. The ancient Jews took literally the instruction to “bind them as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes”. They wore phylacteries, small black boxes containing the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, on their foreheads and left hands. Today’s Orthodox and Conservative Jews continue this practice. It is odd, but it certainly isn’t difficult. If we could keep the laws of God just by literally attaching them to ourselves, we’d have a foolproof formula for righteousness.
Following directions makes sense. Outcomes are not left to chance when instructions are meticulously adhered to. But as Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, He’s after a heart that goes beyond the letter of the law to the intent of the law. Laws become subjective rather than objective as individual believers, in accordance with guidance from the Holy Spirit, look beyond each law to its broader application. When the human heart gets involved, along with individual interpretations and unique circumstances, foolproof formulas are thrown out the window.
This week, Pastor Dan shared that Christian parents are often looking for explicit instructions to ensure their children turn out OK. Deuteronomy 6 outlines some basic principles regarding the duty of parents to disciple their children and we are told in the book of Proverbs that when we “train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it”. Sounds like a foolproof formula to me, yet any parent knows that it isn’t.
As explained in the sermon, there is a difference between promises and principles. The former depends on God alone, who always keeps His word. We can take His promises to the bank. The latter requires our cooperation. Principles are generally true when applied as intended, but must take into account human imperfection. Principles must allow for free will, human emotion, and user error, and therefore, are not guaranteed.
Principles are not formulas, nevertheless we are wise to cling to them, remembering that it’s not the principles but the heart behind them that produces results. God’s commands are to be inwardly attached and strapped to our hearts. Figuratively speaking of course.
~ Melissa Gibbs has been a member of LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years, is the mother to four boys and widow of the late JD Gibbs.