This afternoon while standing in the produce section of our supermarket I watched an old man–old? late eighties, I think–shuffle in the front door, past me and on to the fish section. He pulled a sheet of newspaper out of his pocket and wrapped it around a large fish he had taken from the bed of ice. He promptly turned about, shuffled past me and went out the door. I had just witnessed the perfect crime. No one seemed to notice him and no one tried to stop him. Surely he must be the store manager’s great grandfather or some such thing!
Ever since I have been wondering if he really did get away with this? My answer is no. Even though we are not apprehended we always pay a price for our wrong doing. In some way or other we are harmed. If we were not, it would not be wrong. Things are wrong only when they harm us or another. If there is no harm it is okay. Immanuel Kant wrote, “I must do only that which would be permissible for all to do.” The silver rule says, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you.” Jesus’ golden rule goes much further. He said, “Do to others what you would they did to you.” This goes way beyond rules and regulations. We are talking about behavior that is the fruit of thought and not mere obedience. We could all imagine scenarios where blind obedience would produce harm.
God is not honored by thoughtless followers. If that is what He desired, He could have created a race of robots. Instead, He made us to think, to ponder, to act responsibly. He made us to do the right thing.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 22, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org