Common Sense Laws

TODAY'S READING: Ex. 23, 24; Ps. 14; Acts 5

SCRIPTURE: Ex. 23:1-9
¹ “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

² “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, ³ and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.

⁶ “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷ Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

⁸ “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

OBSERVATION: The heading in my Bible that precedes these verses says, "Laws of Justice and Mercy". They certainly are that, but I think these laws are just common sense for anyone with a decent moral compass. You don't even need to be a Christian to see that all of these laws would make for a better, happier society if they were followed. God knows that some people are prejudiced against the rich and will favor the poor in court even if they don't deserve it while others would favor the rich simply to curry their favor. These scriptures address both those tendencies. We are to do the right thing regardless of a person's wealth. In fact, these laws are based on justice, respect and kindness toward everyone, regardless of station in life or ethnicity.

APPLICATION: Simple. Just do it! Live like God wants me to. If everyone did this and these were the only scriptures that were known by the world were these few, the world would be a much better place to live in.

PRAYER: Father, I love you! You are so good and kind and righteous. I get to go to church this morning and I am so looking forward to worshiping you! You deserve all my praise and devotion. How I wish everyone knew you and loved you! Heaven will be a wonderful place because everyone there will willingly live in accordance with your wisdom and love. Thank you for your Word that reveals to us how great and wonderful you are so that we can look forward to that day. Until then, help all of us who call ourselves believers to demonstrate your love by our behavior. In Jesus' Name, Amen.