It is often said that, “you can’t legislate morality.” The veracity of this statement is mixed. In many ways, legislation that is passed is based upon morals. Laws make crimes of actions like theft and murder. In this sense, morality is being legislated. That said, having those laws recorded in law books do not stop people from stealing or killing. In this sense, the concept falls flat.
Making such laws as these creates an expectation for people to live by a set of shared morals. Some believe morals to change over time and to be relative, while others insist morals are objective and do not change. Either way, the fact that people break laws shows you can’t force someone to live by a particular set of morals.
This is something we Christians would do well to learn. I’m not saying we should not promote moral living. I’m not saying we shouldn’t attempt to influence law to reflect Christian morals. I’ve written about the misunderstanding of the separation between church and state, and even recently here about how America was founded upon Christian principles and one of the foremost constitutional scholars in the history of this country believed government should encourage Christianity.
Unfortunately, Christians often believe that we can simply push or legislate people into breaking away from sin. Jesus Himself would beg to differ: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). One who is enslaved does not have the freedom to choose to do other than what the master dictates. Thus, if one is enslaved to sin, one can do little other than that which the sinful flesh desires. The heart must first be changed; the sinner must be set free: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
If we as Christians still struggle at times with sin, how can we expect the unsaved to live morally upright lives? Telling sinners to not sin is tantamount to telling a blind man to watch where he’s going. It is expecting the impossible. This is why the gospel is so crucial, and why we should preach it in all its simplicity.
If ever we are to change the direction society is headed (if such is even possible - Scripture indicates otherwise), it will not be through government; such change can only come through the power of the gospel to change hearts.
I hold no claim to piety or righteousness, but I've come to find what counts is, who am I when no one is looking. If I can live with that man, my hope is that by example, when some are watching, that is who they see. That said, I'm not who or what I was decades ago. I am still flawed, in many ways deeply, but as I like to tell folks, I think I may finally be playing for the right team. I have a new contract and my new employer keeps me busy.
It's so, so easy to talk the talk. Walking the walk is, for me, an exercise in stumbling, tripping, and balancing in order to avoid falling. Sometimes I do fall and I try to get right back up and use the event as a learning opportunity. I am not obligated to LIKE the lesson, either.