Editorial December 29, 1986 Issue

The promise of God's law

Michael D. Rissler

There are many words for snow in the Eskimo language. That's understandable. Eskimos live in cold regions where snow is abundant and inescapable. In tropical areas there are numerous names for palm trees. Words in various languages say something about what is common to people's lives.

I was thinking about another set of words as well. Rules, promises, oaths, obligations, contracts, debts, commandments, statutes, ordinances, bonds, requirements, covenants—all of these words, and I'm sure there are many more, are variations on the theme of law.

Our language and our lives are much involved with law. But unless it is really honored, a law can seem little more than an abstraction. A debt that isn't repaid is worthless. An ordinance that is disregarded by most if not all the members of a community is little more than a parody of law. A promise that is unkept, a rule that is ignored, a contract that is dishonored, can injure and defile and encourage further weakening of trust. Without trust, without dependability, no matter what words one uses, there's little evidence of or benefit from law.

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