Following God's Law = Lack of Compassion?

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I had an interesting discussion on substack last week regarding the old “poor widow who steals food to feed her children” situation. What do we do? Let her off the hook, or prosecute her?

In this episode I’ll cover:

1. The Dilemma of the Poor Widow

2. The Relationship of Mercy and Justice

3. Understanding Civil vs. Personal Law

4. The Role of Compassion in Law

5. Concluding Thoughts on Mercy and Law

The Original Thread

Here is the original thread you can read for yourself

“She Isn’t Right But Who is?”

• Let’s apply this to pedophiles. Poor Steve the pedophile, about to be sentenced, he isn’t right, but who is? Why not show him some grace?

• How about the person that she stole from? What about their family?

• We are not innocent, so we need civil protections as given to us by God

  Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

  Ecclesiastes 8:11

Mercy Without Payment

God’s mercy is available because Jesus actually paid the penalty on our behalf. A more parallel situation would be this women not having any money at the store, and someone came up and offered to pay for it with their own money on behalf of the women.

Forcing someone to have mercy via theft, and then forcing the state to have mercy on you in response would be throwing away God’s standards and inverting what God has put in place.

Personal vs Civil Mercy

Personal mercy is what we can offer other image bearers as a type to the ultimate mercy given to us by Christ. We have been saved as a gift, not because of our deeds that it is owed but because of he who saves and his endless love.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Romans 12:19

Civil mercy, on the other hand, doesn’t exist in God’s world.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Romans 13:3–4

Matt 18

Matthew 18 is at least tangentially relevant here. Maybe she isn't a fellow servant yet, but maybe she could be.

The Passage:

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18:23–35

• This passage is about personal forgiveness, this is not about God commanding us to disobey his own law in order to show mercy. God doesn’t command 1 thing and then go back on it somewhere else.

Lack of Compassion

• I have a lack of compassion because you don’t agree with me? Nothing specific was countered here, it’s all personal attack.

• What if a pedophile didn’t have any money to feed his child, so he filmed his child and sold it on a pornographic site. He made enough to buy food and feed his child. Where’s your compassion Jonathan?

• The problem is, the principle is not good that we should be able to disobey God’s holy law in order to fulfill some other “good thing” via our own actions. This slippery slope is steep.