The Law

There are so many different laws. I was browsing through some of my notes from a few years ago and found the following list of "laws.”

1. The law of volunteering: If you dance with a grizzly bear, you better let him lead.
2. The law of avoiding oversell: When putting cheese in a mousetrap, always leave room for the mouse.
3. The know-its-time-to-quit law: The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets
4. The law of common sense: Never accept a drink from a urologist
5. The first law of reality: There are days when no matter which way you spit, it is upwind
6. The second law of reality: When you starve with a tiger, the tiger starves last.
7. The third law of reality: Whatever it is that hits the fan, it will not be distributed equally.
8. The fourth law of reality: Never get into fights with ugly people. They have nothing to lose.
9. The fifth law of reality: Creativity is great, but plagiarism is faster.
10. The law of goal setting: Reality is a crutch for those who cannot cope with fantasy.
11. The law of escape: When you are in a hole, stop digging.
12. The law of vision: The higher you climb, the further you can see, but the view gets fuzzier.
13. The sixth law of reality: You’ll never win a spitting contest with a skunk.

The Bible has a great deal to say about laws, however it is vital for us to realize that grace covers our sin under the law. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church:

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:19-25 ESV).

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of WWII, was called by adoring New Yorkers ‘the Little Flower’ because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character. One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. “It’s a real bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the man told the mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.” LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions—ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero. That’s the same grace that we have been privileged to receive through Christ. We are guilty, but God sent His only Son that we might have our “fines paid in full!” If you’re still trying to gain acceptance through the law, you deny His grace. Accept it today and praise His name! It is, after all, amazing grace!