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Fulfilling The Law

             The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:9-10)

 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)

When Paul discussed love in 1 Corinthians 13, he listed many words that described what love does or doesn’t do. When he discussed love in Romans 13 (memory aid, there!), he did so in terms of the Law, summing it up nicely with “Love does no harm to a neighbor.” This is strengthened by Jesus in the passage from Matthew, where He taught that those who are angry, or those who condemn, mock, or ridicule their brother or sister have violated the law. Verbal and even mental assault on a person harms both them and the assailant. The claim that words are violence can be true. That’s why there are laws against defamation (including slander and libel). That’s the foundation of the concept of gaslighting, shaming, mocking, insulting, ridiculing, and even teasing.

Some would say that those other folks need to develop thicker skin, but until one knows how thick someone’s skin is, one probably shouldn’t press a sharp knife against it because the damage may be more serious than expected. Instead of a scratch, it might sever an artery. And while some might object that Jesus was talking about being angry (He was), Paul’s point was to do no harm. Love fulfills the law, not the lack of anger. 

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