In the US law is looked upon as a necessary evil. We want the freedom to do whatever we want … but compelling everyone to drive 55 miles per hour is necessary for safety and good order. Henry David Thoreau described this philosophy as the government which governs best is the one that governs least. That is not the Biblical idea of the law. The law should be considered a great gift, according to Moses, because it shows us the right way to live. If we didn’t have the law we would be no better than beasts. Of course we know that in Jesus’ time the law came to be experienced as a burden. But Jesus does advise throwing the law away but rather fulfilling it.
