I often attend a weekly men’s Bible discussion group. We review the upcoming readings for Sunday and discuss what they mean to us.

A few months ago, we were reading a parable from Jesus about a rich man who daily ignores a beggar at his doorstep. The rich man ends up in Hell and sees that the beggar is in Heaven with Abraham. He asks Abraham to at least warn his brothers of their fate if they don’t help a beggar, but Abraham tells him they have to freely make that choice based on their faith’s teachings.

In our discussion, we asked ourselves a question.  What do you do when you see a panhandler at a stop light? Do you give him or her money? Do you stare straight ahead and pretend you don’t see him? Do you get angry because he makes you uncomfortable? Do you judge and tell yourself he should go get a job?

Jesus’ parable is clear.  How do you reconcile your faith with the choices you make in your life that seem justifiable but contradict the faith message?

Beyond our personal decisions, we have many decisions our country needs to make within the framework of a democracy.  The Ten Commandments are Biblical principles relating to ethics and worship that serve as the foundation of Judaism and Christianity. Accountability to these Principles comes in the next Life.

Our democracy makes laws within the framework of our Constitution. Breaking these laws comes with prescribed punishments in this life, not the next Life.  

Our Constitution heavily leans to personal freedom, just as faith is based on free will.

One Commandment that is also American law is “Thou shall not kill.”  That seems pretty straight forward. But can we kill when defending our country? Our home? In war, can we kill civilians when we are not sure if they are the enemy? Can we execute brutal criminals? Is abortion murder when a woman’s health is at risk? In which situations should we defer to personal freedom or free will?

Thou shall not commit adultery. If you do, what is the punishment? That’s up to God, not us. In our democracy, there is no law against adultery. We used to have laws against interracial marriage until our Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in 1967. Is interracial marriage a sin?

Thou shall not steal.  Again, the punishment is up to God. In some Islam countries, the punishment is cutting off a hand. Our democracy also has laws against stealing, with punishments ranging from fines to prison time.

Honor your father and mother. We have no such law in the U.S. If we did, what would be the punishment? Has there ever been a child that never disrespected their parents?

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. This commandment in its simplest terms means we should not lie. Are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy lies?  Are there times our government should lie to protect a greater good? In our democracy, we have very few laws against lying. In fact, we are a nation divided over the question of a president lying to overturn an election he lost.

Of the Ten Commandments, I think only two are law in our democracy.  Some of us believe we are a Christian nation, and as such we should have laws that parallel Christian ethics and morals. Yet in our Bill of Rights, we protect religious freedom, meaning you can practice any religion you want – or not even believe in God. 

I think that pretty clearly means laws based almost exclusively on Christian morals are unconstitutional.  In the absence of such laws, we can still exercise the free will God gave us to live our personal life consistent with our morals.

As I attend my Bible study groups, I keep finding more situations where I cannot reconcile my faith and what should be democratic law. There seem to be a lot of impossible reconciliations. I don’t pretend to be wise enough to do the impossible.

My choice is for our country to protect personal freedom to the extreme God gives us free will. In 237 years, we have only made two of the Commandments into American law. And even those two recognize situations where we have to trust the individuals who are protecting their home, defending their country or providing health care.

That doesn’t mean we abandon our faith ethics and morals. I’m motivated to be an advocate to others to exercise their free will to make ethical choices, to support them if they think their life situation is so desperate to justify unethical actions, and to not judge them in the process. I feel like this is what I am called to do, not to advocate for laws and punishments.

It is the only reconciliation I can find in the impossible.