Considering Today's Moral Laws

Scripture: If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. Deuteronomy 22:6-7

Observation: Again in Deuteronomy, we find a list of laws. The subtitle of this section even says these are various laws of morality. Yet none of them are really about ... morality as we would define it. The instructions are ... help your neighbor if you see that his donkey or ox have fallen, if you find your neighbors donkey or ox wandering gather and return them, also recover any other lost item you find and return it to your neighbor, when you take birds for food allow the mother to live, create fences on your house rooftops so no one falls off, plant only one type of crop per field, use proper plowing techniques to keep your rows straight and true, don't mix materials that wear or shrink differently on the same garment.

All of these are just instructions for having a good life. As a community, do things that make daily life better organized, preserve the land and nature in a manner that will sustain its production, and help each other out so accidents don't produce hardships. Take care of the world and each other ... these are the moral laws of God.

Application: What would today's 'various laws of morality' be for those in 21st century urban society? That we should ... return lost pets to their owners; respect and not damage parked cars parked; properly care for public spaces and greenbelts; hold short meetings that respect coworkers' time; wear appropriate shoes to keep feet comfortable; do honest work at your job; shop wisely at the grocery stores; help ensure overall traffic safety.

God's laws were - and are - here to make us safe. I continually see these lists of laws that are nothing more than common sense. Some sound punitive and harsh, such as stoning to death a son who refuses to obey his parents. However, the true law there is ... let's all be considerate contributors to a functional society.

The pandemic has brought many communities into a new understanding of interaction. People cannot interact anonymously, and thus are friendly and considerate when placed in public situations. They take care around others and are polite. The respect nature and enjoy observing how elements like clean air are returning.

These are the "laws" God always wanted us to follow, to take care of the world and each other, and to humbly walk with him as our father and provider.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for this sabbath. This is clearly what is going on. May I and others come out of this with a better understanding of your will for our personal lives, but also for society and nations. May we find your teaching that will allow it to be well with us and prolong our days. You have our attention. Amen.