Get to the Chopper

The other day I was at work and was talking about learning to ride a motorcycle. A nurse overheard the conversation and he went on a rant about the dangers of motorcycle riding and how other people  have wrecked, and the accident landed them in the brain injury ward of the hospital where he and his co-workers had to wipe their butts. As I listened to how whole drawn out story of danger, the only thing that really cautioned me against the ride was the thought that I'd be stuck in the hospital and having to eat the cafeteria food for weeks on end. I've thought about his story since then and it wasn't until this morning that I tied the ideas together on a different point. Balance. You could get totally destroyed driving a car the same way that you could get wrecked on a bike. You could, but you probably wont. Why ride a bike? For me there isn't much more liberating and that risk is worth the reward, as long as I take precautions.

This got me thinking about the Torah and the Law of God. I couldn't tell you how many times I have heard some brothers and sisters in Christ say that the Law of God is legalism and that if you start doing it you have to turn off the power to your house one day a week, you can't drive anywhere and its so much stress that eventually you end up being spiteful towards God. Some say that when you follow the law of God you turn into this judgmental hypocrite that runs around stabbing people with the scriptures and heaping prideful damnation upon them in your ego driven zeal, proclaiming yourself something of a prophet.  The interesting part, is yes, that can happen. If you are careless on a motorcycle and reckless you're going to lose balance and focus, get thrown and live the rest of your life with a burn on your ankle where your skin hit the exhaust on the way down... not that I'd know anything like that. Ok, I would. However, if you are looking to the commands of God in proper context, if you are rooted in the Savior

"For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully" - 1 Tim

To avoid the proper application of the Law in your life because others have misused it would be like avoiding eating food because obesity is an epidemic and people occasionally choke to death on steak they didn't chew right. There are real threats and concerns, but not if you're doing the right thing the right way. Fear is not a good enough reason to keep from doing the right thing.

In your zeal to not be these guys:

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”- Acts 15

Don't be these guys:

 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’- Matt 7

Find your balance, wear a helmet, enjoy the ride