When Moses by the Law explained how we by God are meant to be as human beings (especially in Leviticus 19) he said, among other things:
“And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:11-14)
These commandments do not only regard the particular acts forbidden us to do, but they tell us how our orientation, our attitude, in other words our thinking, should be. And when not thinking of the described acts forbidden us to do but on whatever it is which reminds us of them, we will know we have committed a sin when we feel we have put someone – our neighbour – in the position of being able to captivate us by what we have done so that we need to excuse ourselves by the way we think about ourselves and our actions. In that case we are no longer free to act faithfully.
The commandments here cited are to be seen as referring to three levels of growth, or as two bounds with the Holy Spirit in mind, described in other posts on this blog (here keeping peace with God in the local – neighbours in the regional world – deaf/blind (the poor) in the totality). Moses thought of us as meant to be in authority. By disobeying commandments we can no longer be in authority.
“… Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” (John 12-44-50)
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