Living under the Spirit of the law is different than living under the letter of the law. Consider traffic lights, for example. The letter of the law is that cars may proceed past the light when it is green, proceed with caution when it is yellow, and stop when it is red. By following these rules you conform to the written code. However, it is possible to run a red light and neither get in trouble with the law, nor have an accident. Conversely, it is possible to travel through a green light and still end up in a terrible accident (because someone else wrongly entered the intersection).
The point is, the letter of the law is unable to fulfill its intent. The letter of the law in this case is to aid the flow of traffic while making intersections safe. Therefore, it is more important to pass courteously and safely through the intersection than it is to conform to the traffic lights. As a practical matter, the letter of the law must be obeyed, but the spirit of the law remains paramount.
It is not better to make more laws. In traffic this might mean adding regular speed bumps on roads and adding traffic lights at every driveway. Surely these additions would make driving safer. Of course, driving would also be much more time-consuming, harder on cars, rougher on spinal columns, and worse on fuel efficiency.
Piling on laws is pharisaism. It gives the appearance of righteousness but ends up transforming “righteousness” to the point where it becomes more important than living…more important than the living. In a land of traffic in the Spirit there would be no traffic control signs because all drivers would drive with understanding and with commitment to the principles of safe driving. All drivers would be mindful of the variations of driving conditions, mindful of their skills, and would drive cooperatively with all others on the road. The law of the spirit is nuanced and is always relationally oriented. – E.O.
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