Legos and Leviticus

Well, to be honest, this post does not have much to do with Leviticus, but laws from God in general, and I just liked the alliteration, so I stand by my title.

Going through Matthew in our church, I am struck (probably purposefully by the author) by the competing philosophies of the Pharisees and Jesus. (sarcastically: "NNNOOOOOOOOO, REEEEAAAALLLY?!?!!?!).

This difference is especially noticeable vis a vis Sabbath laws. In historical Judaism (specifically after the exile) there were three main pillars of religious practice that were strictly emphasized in order to maintain distinction between the people of God and the "goyim": the Gentiles. These were Sabbath, diet, and circumcision (all found in Leviticus, and the title is referenced!).

Thus, when Jesus engages the establishment on Sabbath laws, he is treading some mighty rough water (or possibly walking on it, I guess?). But he makes a very striking point in one such meeting: he states that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.

To me, this line of reasoning sums up all of God's laws, Leviticus and otherwise, in that they are a gift to man for his benefit and not as a punishment. In this way, God's laws are like a parent giving his child a nice lego set.

What was that???

Yup, laws are like legos, though admittedly not as fun. The Pharisees wanted to ensure that the laws were kept to prove how much better they were than everyone else around them. In this way, they built their lego models, and displayed them proudly, yet they put them in fancy acrylic display cases fenced off with velvet ropes and made sure nobody touched them.

All the while, God's intention was for us to play with them, and also to invite others to share the fun with us. Now, to be sure, laws, like legos, are fragile and prone to breaking. But there is a difference between iconoclastic bashing and smashing of God's good gifts and breakage that happens in the course of normal play.

Naturally, God would not want people to smash his gifts to us, but neither would he want us to devote all our energies into keeping something so pristine and untouched that it is completely unenjoyable. Instead, we are called to enjoy God's gifts, to exercise good stewardship of them, and to invite others to enjoy them with us. We are not to use them to abuse and exclude people, and then to judge them for playing with inferior toys.

So what do you think? Is this a good analogy or not? Where does it break down? What scriptures support or deny this analogy? Am I being lazy in forcing readers to do my research for me?

And finally, does Mizzou have a chance in the NCAA Championship coming up?