When Law Is Not the Measure of Righteousness

“It’s the law.” “Just obey the law.” “Don’t stand in the way of law enforcement.”

These phrases are often used to imply that if a law was broken, then whatever followed was deserved, and anyone who interfered deserved the same fate.

I am a law‑abiding rule follower who believes laws are necessary for order, and I am grateful for those who serve in roles that uphold them. But experience—history, Scripture, and personal reflection—has taught me something crucial: “legal” or “lawful” is not synonymous with “good” or “right.” Consequently, in situations where the moral difference is clear, holding the Word of God as the standard, I am thankful for the courageous and compassionate helpers who stand between “law” breakers and “law” enforcement.

As a Christian mixed-race woman (my mom was Black, and my dad was a Jewish immigrant from Poland), here are three situations where helpers’ interventions have indirectly or directly impacted my life:

• MY BLACK HERITAGE.

Black people were “legally” enslaved for their lifetimes and recognized as only 3/5 of a person. In addition, it was illegal to help slaves escape. Nevertheless, enslaved people still tried to escape; and  compassionate and courageous people still helped them. One of these helpers was Levi Coffin (1798–1877), a Quaker abolitionist known as the “President of the Underground Railroad.” He and his wife helped more than 3,000 enslaved people escape to freedom, defying the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 because they believed human dignity outweighed immoral laws.

• MY JEWISH HERITAGE.

Beginning in 1933, Nazi laws systematically stripped Jewish people of rights and citizenship. This “legal” persecution escalated into mass murder—made possible by individuals in the German government who helped create, pass, and enforce those laws. By 1941, it was punishable by death for Poles to help Jews. Still, many did. Across Europe, ordinary people hid Jewish neighbors, forged papers, shared food, and chose compassion over compliance—saving lives at an enormous cost. Unfortunately, though, five of my dad's seven siblings and their families did not survive.

•  MY SPIRITUAL HERITAGE. 

I, too, was guilty. I had broken God’s righteous law and faced a just penalty: death and eternal separation from Him. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). According to the law, I deserved judgment. But God, who is rich in mercy, sent Someone to stand between me and that judgment. Jesus Christ took my sentence upon Himself, offering life where death was deserved, freedom where bondage reigned.

It is scary when we make the letter of the law our only means of dealing with transgressions. Second Corinthians 3:6 states, “Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Legalism by itself kills.

The fruit of the Spirit  that gives life are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

Legally, the woman who committed adultery deserved to be killed. But Jesus stepped in. He didn't condemn her, but told her to go and sin no more.

We need law and order, but we also need compassion and respect for human life.

I praise God for His love, grace, and mercy. And I praise Him for the courageous and compassionate people who stand up, step in and between to save others from injustice and inhumanity.

May we grow to reflect our Father's nature more each day, so that those who make and enforce laws, and those who intervene with injustice do it in ways that honor God.