“You have heard it said…” (vs. 27), not only heard, but it’s one of the 10 commandments!!! But as we discussed on Friday, it’s not just about the words, it’s about the intent. Yet sometimes we are too much like the Pharisees. We hear God’s laws, tweak it so that it doesn’t apply to us, and in doing so robs it from the intent that God had for it. Movies or TV shows with strong sexual content we shrug off as not being THAT bad. Divorce is OK’d simply because we aren’t happy and we think that God wants us to be happy. Deception is fine, because we didn’t tell a lie, we just didn’t tell the whole truth.
Those things might be OK in the eyes of the world, but as Christians we have a higher standard and a higher calling. May God strengthen us to live according to that higher calling, to live according to God’s intent of the law, not just according to the letter or according to the intent of the world.