Risk vs. Reward

1 Corinthians 10:23

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful.  “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.  (ESV)

When I was in college I travelled to Ukraine on a mission trip.  One day, our host took us to some castle ruins in the mountains to share a little of the history of Ukraine with us.  When we arrived, we were very surprised to see that these castle ruins were totally unmonitored; there were no warning signs telling us not to climb, no ropes blocking off parts of the castle.  It was totally open so that we could climb at will and explore these ruins.  However, just because there were no rules prohibiting us from exploring wherever we wanted doesn’t mean that there weren’t dangers that we needed to be aware of.  There was still very much danger if we took too much liberty and freedom to run around these ruins carelessly.

Life is a lot like those castle ruins.  Paul wrote in Corinthians that just because there aren’t rules against something doesn’t mean that it’s beneficial for our spiritual life.  We have to be aware of the risks involved in decisions that we make and we have to consider how they will impact our lives.   There are a lot of things in America and other countries that are lawful for us to do, but that doesn’t mean that they’re good for us.  More and more laws are approving of things that have historically been recognized as wrong, but God’s laws have not changed.  As citizens of the kingdom of God we need to be aware of God’s laws more than the laws of man and remember that those are the laws that we will be held accountable to on judgment day.

In Matthew 5:17-48, Jesus begins a discussion on the law and points out that although he came to fulfill the law in his death, that doesn’t mean that he was saying the law was null and void.  In fact, he goes on to stress how important it is for his followers to continue to live according to God’s law as a reflection of his holiness.  Thus, we must weigh every earthly law against God’s law and follow God above all else.

What earthly laws do you know of that go against God’s law?  Do you struggle to follow God’s law over the laws of the nations we live in?