They were cherry tomatoes and they looked especially good in the afternoon sunlight. I was walking my dog and one of my neighbors has a garden that abuts the street. The tomatoes were on the curb which is city property and I pay my taxes; therefore, it seemed that the tomatoes were in public domain. Accompanying my salivation came the thought that in Mark 2 Jesus’ disciples plucked some grain to eat from fields that did not belong to them. It was lawful for a hungry traveler to pick a handful of grain. Is this ancient law germane in the 21th Century? Was it morally right for me to harvest a handful of cherry tomatoes to satisfy my hunger?
If I ate them I probably would feel guilty. I would awaken in the night thinking I needed to knock on my neighbor’s door and confess my larceny. That was the heart of the matter. It was not a matter of law. It was a matter of what I thought might be wrong. James wrote, “Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” I think the reverse logic is logical. To him that thinks it is wrong and does it, it is wrong. It might not be wrong. But if we think it is and still do it, it has all the damaging effects as if it really was wrong.
To add a bit more context to this. The garden belongs to one of the pastors in town. I have in the past talked with her about her garden and she has given me eating rights. But I know many of my neighbors walk their male dogs along that curb.
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 18, 2013
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org