Clean slates
This week's verses are Leviticus 19:15-18:
These verses are similar to a lot of what Jesus said in the New Testament, and some of what the apostle Paul wrote about. Old Covenant or New, God's standards for love don't change. In these verses, God is talking about giving preferential treatment to people on account of the social class they're part of. We see some of those issues even in modern times, where people rail against the 1%, or against racial or ethnic groups perceived to be rich, while correspondingly showing partiality the poor and other groups perceived as disadvantaged.
God has a real love for the downtrodden, oppressed, disadvantaged peoples of the world. We see him rescuing those people over and over again. But what we miss is that he also loves the rich, powerful, already-successful people too. To show preference for one over the other is ungodly, as God loves them both. Innocent is innocent, and guilty is guilty. We have to be as fair as we can and put our prejudices aside.
God says we shouldn't go out as a slanderer amongst our people. That means not branding all rich people as schemers and tax-cheats, or all poor people as criminals and sluggards. We don't know why a given person is rich or poor. The same can be said for any other in-group or out-group prejudices you might have. Jews hated the Greeks and the Greeks hated the Jews in the early church, and Paul had to call a truce on it more than once.
God says not to stand idly by when your neighbour's life is at stake. In other words, if some rich-looking guy is on trial, or some poor-looking guy is on trial, don't automatically check out because you think they deserve to go to jail either way. If you're on jury duty, you need to maintain an open mind. God says not to hate your brother in your heart, which is what you're doing if you're gleefully reading the sentencing guidelines before hearing the case.
God says to call your fellow citizen out if they're doing something wrong, so that you don't bear guilt for them causing problems. In other words, just because they're part of the same tribe as you doesn't mean you can turn a blind eye to what they're doing or give them a free pass to do evil. We see this with political divides a lot. Two politicians do exactly the same thing but we only hear the other politicians complain about the one who isn't in his party. A cop should be willing to blow the whistle on another cop, and a priest should be ready to do the same to another priest. Not doing so means the silent party is an accomplice.
God says not to take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people. That means long-standing feuds need to end. If someone's ancestors wronged your ancestors, that shouldn't cause a problem between you and them. They didn't do it. Their slate is as clean as yours. Or if someone shoots your brother, it doesn't justify you going after their kids years later. The kids didn't do it. They're innocent.
Vengeance is a bit like going after someone's kids, if you think of salvation as being reborn. If someone robbed you and then was born again, or confessed their sin to God, they're clean like a baby. If you then go and attack them, you're attacking an innocent baby. You're the bad guy then, not the former robber. Who attacks babies?
Finally God says to love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus quotes it in the New Testament. That means not giving your neighbour a harder time than you'd give yourself and not giving yourself a harder time than you'd give your neighbour. We're supposed to be impartial, right? God's grace is available to us all.
“‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: you must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord. You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
These verses are similar to a lot of what Jesus said in the New Testament, and some of what the apostle Paul wrote about. Old Covenant or New, God's standards for love don't change. In these verses, God is talking about giving preferential treatment to people on account of the social class they're part of. We see some of those issues even in modern times, where people rail against the 1%, or against racial or ethnic groups perceived to be rich, while correspondingly showing partiality the poor and other groups perceived as disadvantaged.
God has a real love for the downtrodden, oppressed, disadvantaged peoples of the world. We see him rescuing those people over and over again. But what we miss is that he also loves the rich, powerful, already-successful people too. To show preference for one over the other is ungodly, as God loves them both. Innocent is innocent, and guilty is guilty. We have to be as fair as we can and put our prejudices aside.
God says we shouldn't go out as a slanderer amongst our people. That means not branding all rich people as schemers and tax-cheats, or all poor people as criminals and sluggards. We don't know why a given person is rich or poor. The same can be said for any other in-group or out-group prejudices you might have. Jews hated the Greeks and the Greeks hated the Jews in the early church, and Paul had to call a truce on it more than once.
God says not to stand idly by when your neighbour's life is at stake. In other words, if some rich-looking guy is on trial, or some poor-looking guy is on trial, don't automatically check out because you think they deserve to go to jail either way. If you're on jury duty, you need to maintain an open mind. God says not to hate your brother in your heart, which is what you're doing if you're gleefully reading the sentencing guidelines before hearing the case.
God says to call your fellow citizen out if they're doing something wrong, so that you don't bear guilt for them causing problems. In other words, just because they're part of the same tribe as you doesn't mean you can turn a blind eye to what they're doing or give them a free pass to do evil. We see this with political divides a lot. Two politicians do exactly the same thing but we only hear the other politicians complain about the one who isn't in his party. A cop should be willing to blow the whistle on another cop, and a priest should be ready to do the same to another priest. Not doing so means the silent party is an accomplice.
God says not to take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people. That means long-standing feuds need to end. If someone's ancestors wronged your ancestors, that shouldn't cause a problem between you and them. They didn't do it. Their slate is as clean as yours. Or if someone shoots your brother, it doesn't justify you going after their kids years later. The kids didn't do it. They're innocent.
Vengeance is a bit like going after someone's kids, if you think of salvation as being reborn. If someone robbed you and then was born again, or confessed their sin to God, they're clean like a baby. If you then go and attack them, you're attacking an innocent baby. You're the bad guy then, not the former robber. Who attacks babies?
Finally God says to love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus quotes it in the New Testament. That means not giving your neighbour a harder time than you'd give yourself and not giving yourself a harder time than you'd give your neighbour. We're supposed to be impartial, right? God's grace is available to us all.
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