Living Life

2012.May.

17 Thu

Making Things Right

[ Exodus 21:28 - 21:36 ]

Irresponsibility Costs
28. “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.
29. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.
30. However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded.
31. This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter.
32. If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.

Taking the Blame
33. “If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34. the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35. “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally.
36. However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.

Reflection

Irresponsibility Costs (21:28-32)
Today’s passage highlights the importance of responsible living and the costs of living irresponsibly. Here a man is killed by a bull. If this is the first incident for the bull, then the bull’s owner is not responsible. If, however, the bull’s owner knew of the animal’s tendency to gore people but did nothing to keep it under control, then the owner is at fault; he is to be killed along with his animal. He is equally to blame for the death of the man, which shows how much God’s Law weighs both intent and responsibility.
Good laws hold people to their responsibilities, and bad laws absolve people of their responsibilities. Some nations exonerate people of crimes they committed while being intoxicated, stating that their condition made them not responsible for the crime. However, “not responsible” is very different from “irresponsible.” Two wrongs do not make a right.

Taking the Blame (21:33-36)
Another part of being responsible is owning up to the mistakes that you have made. If someone created a condition that led to the injury or death of another person or animal, the creator of the situation is responsible. An example of such a scenario is given in verses 33-34. A modern-day example would be if a customer slipped and fell on a wet floor in a restaurant, then the restaurant would be responsible for having created or allowed the wet-floor condition.
The principle in verses 35-36 is that if one person causes the destruction of another person’s property, then the first person must take the blame and pay for what was destroyed. It is the same as the “you break it, you buy it” policy that stores have today. God helps property owners by making sure they do not lose out in cases of accidental destruction. This also helps us to be better stewards overall.

Application

- If we live in a society, we must care about how our actions and inactions affect other people. Not to care would be hypocritical because we would obviously want people to care about us. God’s laws remind us to care about others.

- If we are wronged, we should forgive the one who wronged us just as Christ forgave us. But if we wrong someone else, we should not presume to be forgiven. Rather, we should make restitution in a spirit of humility.

A Letter to
God

Heavenly Father, thank You for being so patient and forgiving with me. Help me to be just as patient and forgiving of others. May I not assign blame but extend grace to those who wrong me. And may I fix all my wrongs with others to make them right. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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