Monday; March 5

          There has been a lot of talk lately about making new laws to protect us from one another ... but, I wonder if that really is the answer to our issues.  While I fully believe the government has a responsibility to do what it can to make this as safe a place as possible, the mere presence of laws don’t guarantee safety.  We have laws prohibiting murder, but people still kill people (some even kill dozens of people at a time).  We have laws against sexual assault, but people are raped or illegally touched every day.  We even have laws banning speeding, distracted driving and drunken driving, but negligent crashes kill people every day.  Yes, we need to good laws – but we need something more ... in fact, we need two things:
1.  We need to be obedient to the laws that are enacted.  A law or rule is only as valuable as those obeying it.  We can outlaw anything and everything, but until we are willing to follow the regulations they don’t achieve their purpose.  Sure, enacting a law might provide punishment for the those who commit an offense, but that may not restore the damage that has already been done.  The real difference with law-making begins with law-abiding citizens.
2.  We need to look out for the best interest of others.  One of the reasons we need laws is to officially confirm for society what most of us already know we should be doing.  Yet, in reality, a law-abiding community will still be lacking something ... what we need is a love-abiding community.  A simple definition of brotherly love is doing what is in the best interest of others (whether there is a law demanding it or not).   If we live by love, we won’t have to be nearly as concerned about laws!
          Are we wanting to live a more civilized and cultured lifestyle?  That requires more than legislation and manners – it all revolves around doing what we know we should be doing and demonstrating love towards our fellow-man.
          Think About It!

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