"What locks are for." The Purpose of the Law (part 1)

A few weeks ago while I got a call from my wife that a friend of my daughters was in serious trouble and I might have to go get him. This friend had gotten into a fight with his roommate and his roommate beat him up badly, even kicked him in the head a couple of times. There were fears of a broken nose, etc.. I said I would swing by and take him to the ER . . . but I was quickly told that someone else was already on the way and our friend did not want to go the hospital. (Yeah, I scratched my head too).

After some time after arriving home, I tried to get some details about what happened. It seems that insults were exchanged (that might or might not have included one’s mother) and then the fists started to fly. I asked if charges were going to be pressed. My daughters friend said, “no.” Looking for a springboard from which to witness, I casually said, “you know, it doesn’t take much to see what a person’s heart is really like. A person who is nice to your face but yells at the waiter is really not a good person at all.”

My daughter’s friend mildly glared at me and said something to the effect that I had no right to assume the roommate was a bad person—he just had a bad moment. I think he implied a “Sheesh” at the end of his statement. Oh, and could he please spend the night at our house because he did not want to go back to the apartment. (Yeah, I scratched my head too).

Not a couple of days later I found out that my daughter’s friend had filed a restraining order against his roommate (I suppose to prevent any more “bad moments”) and the roommate was moving out. The next day I got another call asking if my daughter’s friend could spend the night again because the roommate was not moving out, but was (for the sake of brevity) having more “bad moments.” The latest news: my daughter’s friend is moving out of state soon . . .

Ok. If people are really good at heart, we must have policemen, jails, prisons, criminal courts, handcuffs, etc. for . . . actually, I can’t figure it out.

Maybe we have them for the same reason nobody vacations in a houseboat twenty feet above Niagra Falls. Maybe we have them for the same reason nobody builds a home straddling the San Andreas fault, or swim with piranhas or not light a match to see if our gas tank is empty. The reason we don’t do these things is because there is a point at which one or all the above activities becomes LETHAL. (Or stupid. If you are reading this Johnny Knoxville and crew, please give credit to Chuck Swindoll[i] for the above ideas . . . er, illustrations. You’d swim with the Sharks as man-bait with a hook in your mouth, but not piranhas, huh?). We have policemen, their paraphernalia and prisons because people are NOT good at heart. Common sense actually does kick in somewhere . . .

My father-in-law says that locks are to keep good people out. A bad person will find his way in, no matter what.

I wonder: between Federal or State laws, which are most oft-broken? I imagine the most commonly broken laws are those related to speeding. These tend to nail both Christians and non-Christians. Speeding is an amazing phenomenon, when you think about it. The primary reason we speed is because everybody does it! Get out there on the highways and you will find that unless you have absolutely nothing else to do and nowhere else to go (or if you just got your driver’s license) you will speed! And for some reason, when a policeman pulls one over, a driver will invariably think to himself or herself, “but another car was going faster! Why did you pull me over?” Have you also noticed that those who drive on the highway, see the lights of a police cruiser pulled over, the officer is standing by the car or talking to the driver and everyone on the freeway SLOWS DOWN? Why? What’s the officer going to do?

It’s like this: we get in our car and are going somewhere. We get into the flow of traffic, doing what everyone else does. Maybe turn on the music a little, or get on the cell phone. Ok, just a little faster. The speed limit sign goes by. Maybe change lanes because the guy in front is going a little slow—maybe 60. A mile goes by. Another speed limit sign. Hey! I like that song! Turn it up a little. Tap the steering wheel.

Then a light catches your eye. A blue one. And a red one. And a blue one. And a red one. Check the rear view . . . oh, no. Cops got someone. Slow down. He’s right behind . . . and he’s not moving. Change lanes. Not passing, still back there. Check the speedometer . . . and your stomach drops. Awww man!

The law is clearly posted. The law is even made reflective, so’s one can see it at night. You know what it is—it’s just that you don’t feel the weight of the law until it’s been broken. The law shows that people have a tendency to do what is wrong, not what is right.

I talked to a guy once who told me that laws were man-made and he lived by no man’s law and he would do what he wanted, as he wanted, when he wanted. I wondered if the guy was human. I wondered out loud to him, “Do you run every stop light you see, or stop sign as you do 90 through downtown? Because if you do, I don’t want to be on the street when you are driving home.” He just glared at me and tried to excuse himself as he had an appointment . . .

The law shows this: man bad.
But just how bad, exactly?

Let me borrow your imagination for a moment: you’ve been pulled over for speeding. Smokie is leaning in your window and breathes, “Did you know you were speeding?”

What are you going to say? (hint: it’s either a “yes” or a “no”).

He says, “I clocked you going 85 in a 60 mph zone. Why are you going so fast?”

What are you going to say? (It will either be the truth or a lie—quick, think! Conscience is going into overload here. Which one will get the lighter punishment . . . ? Which one appeals to the mercy and grace of the officer so you can get off? Conscience, conscience, conscience . . .)

Think: what advantage do I have for lying? What about telling the truth?

There is another law at work now. A law much higher than Federal or State. If you lie well enough, you cannot be punished, right? Or can you be punished for lying? Lying makes one a liar and any goodness you thought you had goes out the window. But to tell the truth makes the conscience feel better . . . and might even win the grace and mercy of the administer of the law.

Where does that higher law come from?

(to be continued)

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[i] Swindoll, Chuck. Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life. Multnomah: Portland, 1983.