The Rule of Law and The Law
The Constitution of the United States and the 10 Commandments (i.e. The Law) are the 2 most significant, far reaching and surprisingly similar “documents” ever written down. Let me be clear I am not equating them. Of course, the 10 Commandments are pre-eminent. What I am saying is there are characteristics of both that are helpful to understand and doing so can give us a deeper, richer understanding of them.
Please include me in the group of people who say the US Constitution is the most brilliant document on self-governance and setting the foundation for a society, ever written by humankind. When I read the Constitution and its’ accompanying Federalist Papers as a political philosophy major in college I was struck by the wisdom, awareness of human nature and far reaching thinking of those people we refer to as our Founders. I still am. Today I am also aware they were flawed human beings who rose above their flaws to create something very special. The concept of the rule of law, to the best of my knowledge, was not original, but they enshrined it in a way that has helped our country be a beacon for the world. Both, the Constitution and the concept of The Rule of Law deserve our thoughtful respect and honor but not our worship.
This leads me to the 10 Commandments, the Law. Like constitution they are foundational but also much more. Unlike our constitution they were not written by people but given by God. They are both foundational and instructional. They are foundation in that they set the most basic and necessary “rules” for life and community. Both accounts in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5 1-22 are almost identical. The first 4 have to do with our relationship with God and the remaining six our relationship with one another as a result or outgrowth of our relationship with God. The first commandment is by far the most dominant and critical. If we are not committed whole heartedly to the first, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me”, we will never get the other 9 right. To say the same thing a bit differently, if I am having trouble coveting, I need to return to my relationship with God which needs work. When that relationship is restored the problem of coveting will cease.
Obedience, whether in the form of respecting and honoring the Constitution and Rule of Law or the Law is challenging and calls for far more than our casual agreement or easy acceptance. It takes effort, trust, humility and faith. None of these comes easily to us and so often we look for an easier way: Here are some of the ones that have been used for thousands of years:
Conveniently forgetting the law has both legal and moral claims and authority. It is much easier to just keep things “legal” and ignore the often-inconvenient moral dimensions.
Settling for legalistic rules that seek to define the limits of our responsibility.
Focusing on the letter of the law and forgetting the spirit of the law.
Focusing only on what the law says and ignoring the harder but far more rewarding work of discovering what it means.
Deciding a particular interpretation of the law (or faith doctrine) is the only valid one and all others are invalid, false or worse. Of course, the particular correct interpretation is always the one “we” or “I” hold as true.
Trying to precisely define the scope of a law or action when common sense points us beyond these artificially imposed limitations.
What all of these, and the others I have not listed, have in common is we use them to try to be in control in ways that end up being hurtful and painful for all concerned. And that is always a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it is also a violation of the first commandant.
Grace and Peace,, John