Being Free!

The people of Athens historically passed down laws through word of mouth. But, in the 7th century BC, faced with the challenge of maintaining order, they decided their laws needed to be written down. The man given this assignment was Draco, and the reaction to his work was largely negative.

In particular, many disagreed with his view that punishment should be the same for every violation. To him, crime was crime. Asked about his reasoning, he said, “Even petty crimes deserve death, and I cannot find a more serious penalty for the greater crimes.”

His actions inspired the English word draconian, which means “unusually harsh.” Athenians agreed that his draconian approach did not work and asked a man named Solon to revise the codes. He became known as a “wise lawgiver.”

However, ultimately neither approach produced the kind of perfection the Athenians desired. People still were people, and they still suffered wars and unrest, conflicts and crime.

The Bible tells us a similar story about the weakness of written rules. The Mosaic law governed every aspect of life for God’s people. But consistently they found it impossible to meet its standards.

Paul urged believers to realize that no one could satisfy the law’s requirements through their own efforts. By trying to be perfect all the time, we sentence ourselves to a life of failure. Instead, Paul explained that we need to trust in Jesus, realizing that He came to “set us free.” The answer was to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

In your life, find victory by trusting Jesus. Being filled with the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit.