Gates And Traditions

Gates And Traditions (by Kathy Gabler)
Probably the hardest place to build a gate is in our traditional, established views of scripture, and unfortunately we could die on our own sword trying to defend our traditional beliefs simply because the letter of the law kills.  It is rather ironic that the letter of the law is so strong yet vulnerable to something as simple as a  typo or language or culture or new revelation.   However, the spirit of the law, or the truth that is right and unchangeable in it, is not threatened by new gates to fuller understanding.  For instance, the scripture says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” The spirit of that law boils down to not deliberately deceiving and manipulating information against someone for your own purposes.  However, our traditions have added to the letter of that law that we must tell everything we know at all times.  Not lying does not equal spilling all truth to all people.  Even “honesty is the best policy” is best approached with caution because sometimes SILENCE is the best policy.  (There are men who have learned that it is better to be silent than express their honest opinion of what that dress looks like on their wife.)