When Push Comes to Shove
When Push Comes to Shove by debgrant
Two historical documents constantly under scrutiny
The Constitution of the United States
The Bible
What is often said:
They are separate and must be kept separate
They should not be separated
They are set in stone
One is written by men, one is written by God
They are both written by men
Every single phrase should be obeyed
Every single phrase should be read in context
What the Bible and Constitution have in common are LAWS.
Anthropologists/sociologists tell us all tribes develop basic survival codes of behavior. Examples:
Murdering is to be avoided
Personal property is to be respected
Telling a lie is wrong
· Both the Bible and the Constitution get into the weeds of law and order
Definitions of the Laws in different circumstances
Consequences for violations
How to amend a law
What status of society or academic degree or position is required to make decisions about laws and disagreements?
What the Bible and the Constitution ALSO have in common are relationships
Constitution exists in order to form a more perfect union of the People
Bible is a narrative about relationships between people and people with their creator
They both teach basics values about how to get along with our neighbors
When there is a dispute:
Both the Bible and the Constitution point to an authority.
Both the readers of the Bible and the Constitution disagree about how to interpret the original text.
Most of us have a headache by now or you should if you have read this far.
This is what I believe:
Both historical documents are understood best with the RELATIONSHIP guide word front and center. Does this or that rule/interpretation HELP or HURT our relationships with each other?
Jesus knew we would fight with each other.
Jesus defined neighbor for us since he knew we would fight about that too. Jesus went with a wide definition. We were hoping for a narrower one.
When there was a conflict between what loving our neighbor required and obeying the law as interpreted in the day, Jesus chucked the law and loved the neighbor – the one more widely defined.
When push comes to shove, risk on the side of love. Choose love.
Does this make my head hurt less? No, but if I am wrong, I’ll err on the side of a love without the narrow definitions. I don’t choose my neighbors.
I choose love.
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