Law or Love

I live in Wilmington—a beautiful small city on the North Carolina coast. Right now we're having a kerfuffle over our drinking water. Most in our community get their water from the Cape Fear River and we've recently learned a company upstream has been discharging a chemical into the river for years.

Lawyers will probably argue that the chemical is unregulated—so the company can't be held responsible. The way to test an action is by the letter of the law and economics. Love of people isn't part of the equation.

Naturally, the public is shocked that something like this could happen. I want to be shocked too. But I am a sinful person among sinful people. I know the human heart and its tendency to look first at "What do I want?" and follow with "What can I get away with?" This is living by the Law. It's as if Jesus and his kingdom never came. It's as if he never showed us another way.