Living Above the Law
“I want to live perfectly above the law, and make it my servant instead of my master" Brigham Young.
The law is a set of rules that govern human interaction and behaviour. Broadly speaking, it sets the standards by which everyone in society is to be judged. In fact there is a maxim or a legal principle which states that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law.
The Scriptures have this concept of operating in such a way that one is living above the law. Paul teaches that if we possess some particular virtues, there would be no law against us. He writes in Galatians 5:22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” More on this later where Paul zeroes in on the virtue of love that encompasses all law.
The systems of law have evolved in the sense to govern how people interact with each other and also how sovereign nations interact with each other too. As an example I was reading a story about approximately 6000 residents of Ottawa being effectively above the law. See these are people with diplomatic immunity who reside in that city but are representatives of other countries. These people with diplomatic immunity are essentially in every country and the idea is if they were to do any unlawful act, while in that foreign country, they would be handed over to their own country’s authorities to be dealt with accordingly. So in this instance, the story talks of a vehicle that was being driven dangerously down the highway in Ottawa. As many as nine Police vehicles gave chase and apprehended the driver who was visibly drunk. The driver flashed his badge to show that he had diplomatic immunity, he was then driven to his embassy and police contacted the Foreign Affairs Department. If he was not a diplomat, the consequences would have been different, his license would be suspended and if convicted he would face a steep fine. I suppose there are many similar cases around the world.
I think one of the most interesting conversations between Jesus and his disciples is the conversation he had with Peter about taxes. The conversation had an interesting look at the requirement to pay taxes. The story is found in Matthew 17:24-27. In essence Jesus who is essentially the King of heaven and earth, the Creator of all there is, is revealing to Peter that he is literally exempt from paying taxes. However, because of the context in which they were operating, he instructs Peter to go ahead and pay the taxes anyway. And according to this passage and others, he would pay the taxes that were required in his day.
There is this article from the List.com that listed some laws that the British Royal Family is exempt from. In particular, it indicated that the Queen is exempt from paying taxes. However, they wrote how she has voluntarily paid them since 1992. It is interesting how the tax practices of Kings centuries ago when Jesus walked the earth are in many respects seemingly still the same.
The effects of the law on us as human beings are quite interesting. The law has the intention of directing our behaviour. It works in many respects, but again, as human nature is, some get overwhelmingly compelled to do the very opposite of what the law said.
It appears that where there is love for something or someone, then there is no need for a law to remind us on which way to behave ourselves. Presumably, the correct and appropriate actions follow.
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