Don’t Fly Your Kite Like That!
By: Justin Bone
My brush with the law taught me more than I expected about God’s plan for living.
When I was a young man, I was a thief. I don’t know a better way to say it. I would sneak into stores, steal things, tuck them into my pocket, then take them to secondhand goods buyers and sell them for a low price. I did this so I could afford to buy food and by saying that I am not trying to justify myself, just give you the full picture. I got good at it! Perhaps a little too good, because I also got sloppy and one day, in the action of tucking a purloined item into my jacket’s inner pocket I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. The manager of the store looked at me with hard eyes, then took me to the back room and called the police. Soon an officer came and I was taken to the nearby police station, where I gave my confession. My world came crashing down. I had broken the law and was about to pay for it.
The law is a funny thing. In Victoria, the state where I live, it is legally an offence to fly a kite in a public place in such a way that it causes “annoyance”. If someone was flying a kite and they struck me or hurt me in any way, then it would be an injury and I am sure another law would cover that. This one is specifically about flying a kite in an annoying way. I’m not sure what would qualify as being annoying, but perhaps I would know it if I saw it? Either way, if you fly a kite in an annoying way then you could be fined up to $A826.10. The section of legislation this law is included in is titled “Offences relating to the good order of towns etc” and goes back to 1966. Perhaps there was a kite craze going on at the time?
There are some fascinating laws from around the world that make news occasionally. There is apparently a town in Norway called Longyearbyen in which it is illegal to die. In Singapore it is illegal to sell chewing gum. In Devonport, Tasmania, a local ordinance prohibits walking backwards after sunset.
At a glance, these seem arbitrary but interestingly, laws reveal something about the places where they are implemented. Longyearbyen is so cold that bodies do not decompose after death which can cause issues with disease, so elderly residents go to the warmer climate to pass away. In Singapore, people started sticking chewing gum on train doors causing them to operate incorrectly and hold up public transport, so it was banned. There seem to be practical reasons behind most laws. I’m still not sure about the walking backwards in Devonport ordinance though.
Laws reveal a lot about a society’s values. What a group of people find important will often be enshrined in law, and that tells us what a community holds to be important enough to institute fines or punishments if someone goes against it.
At their best, laws should be applied to everyone. Laws should provide protections against the arbitrary exercise of power, and be clear about who can make, apply and enforce law. When we look at laws then, we can figure out who they are to benefit and who they may disadvantage. Good laws are fair and can be equally applied. But there are also laws that advantage those in authority, that are not able to be applied equally. To shore up support for his facist government, Mussolini introduced the Acerbo Law, which gave him effective control of the government in 1924. By 1926, Italy was a one-party country. Clearly that law was not put in place to protect those without power, but to support those who wanted to exercise it over everyone else.
So, when we look at laws, we get a sense of the values of the creator of those laws, of what’s important to them.
Perhaps the most well-known commandments of God are the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Even before I knew what they were, I remember watching Charlton Heston in the 1956 Hollywood epic The Ten Commandments. I think it’s interesting then to look at the Ten Commandments in that light and ask ourselves what they reveal about God, His character and values.
The commandments are found in Exodus 20. I am sure you have heard of them before, even if you’ve never read them for yourself. In case you haven’t, we can essentially divide them into two sections.
The First Four
In the first four commandments, God addresses how His people should treat Him. He says, “I saved you from your slavery, so believe only in Me. You should treat my name carefully because I’m God. Don’t worship things of this world like the Egyptians did. Take a day off a week from working and rest in Me to worship Me so we can be together.”
The first four commandments make it clear who the Lawgiver is, which every set of laws should do. It makes it clear why the One giving the law has any authority to give the law—because He created everything and He saved His people. That’s the basis for His lawgiving. This tells us much about the character of God. He is a Creator, not a destroyer. He wants to save His people, to help them.
The Next Six
Having established who He is and the right He has to make laws, the next six laws tell us about how to treat one another. Don’t kill, don’t steal, remember your parents, don’t lie about your neighbour, don’t commit adultery, don’t be envious of what others have.
What do these laws tell us about the Lawgiver? They tell me that God wants peace between people, that He wants us to love one another; that He wants a community who can live safely with one another and without fear.
I knew that commandment when I decided to steal. For some reason I assumed I had an excuse to ignore it. I justified it to myself. But those justifications didn’t stand when confronted with the person I had stolen from.
I ask myself if people stuck to those last six laws how would the world be different? If no-one killed, would the world be better? If no-one cheated? If no-one (including me) stole? Can you even imagine never having to lock your house or car? That sounds like heaven to me.
These commandments are from the Old Testament and were given to a people who are very different from us in culture, in understanding—yet they still speak to us today.
Jesus was once asked which of these laws was the most important. I think His reply is perfect.
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37).
There is our answer. If laws tell us about the one who creates and gives those laws, then God’s laws are telling us that He is a God of love. I think laws that are based on love are laws that are worth keeping. Though He is a God who gives law, He is also a God who saves.
Sitting in that police station, all I could think of was those I had let down, those who would be hurt by my actions. I felt as low as I ever had been. Then the policeman returned and told me that the owner of the store had decided to have mercy on me, that he wasn’t pressing charges. The policeman gave me some places to go for financial help so I wouldn’t steal again and let me walk out the door free! I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I could fly. I was free.
That’s when it really hit me. God’s laws aren’t there to catch me out. They are there to help me know how to live freely. Since that moment I have never stolen a single thing because of that shop owner’s forgiveness. Incredibly, God’s laws reveal that is His character as well, He will forgive when we get it wrong, and gently remind us of His laws so we can live our lives based on love and live a life of peace. That’s why I follow His laws today.
Article supplied with thanks to Sign of the Times Magazine.
About the Author: Justin Bone supports and trains pastors and congregations around Victoria, Australia, for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He is passionate about helping people understand the Bible better.
Feature image: Canva
