Do you scour the scriptures for "shall nots"...or for "shoulds?"

I know it's a big mistake, but I sometimes get into online discussions with people that hold a different relgious viewpoint than me. And it's usually over the scriptural viewpoint of certain political stances. For instance, I once got into a discussion about whether the government should help the poor. One person's comment was something to the effect that "there's nothing in the Bible that says we should take money away from people that have it and give it to people that don't," which is how he saw taxes and social spending.

I was thinking about that this morning. Though there are many places in the Bible that advocate helping the poor. But no, there wasn't anything anywhere that specifically said that the government should take money from some and give it to others. And even though that's not how I see government-sponsored social programs, I still would ask, "But shouldn't we do so anyway?"

Thus, another example of how different types of people read scriptures. Some scour them, looking for what they can and cannot do. And they believe that if they just don't do the things that their scripture prohibits, they've got nothing to worry about.

Others, while typically following many (but not all) of the same prohibitions, they usually go a step further. That is, they look for and try to follow the "shoulds."

For example, the Bible says you "should" clothe the naked and feed the hungry. You "should" go two miles when someone asks you to go one. You "should" be kind and helpful to foreigners. Yes, some of the people that focus mostly on the prohibitions do practice such works of mercy. But largely, these "shoulds" seeem to be drowned out by all the "shall nots."

Looking just for the "shall nots" reminds me of a kid asking for the rules before running out to play. And then finds ways to bend them. "But Dad, there was still this one streetlight that was still on, so that counts right?"

We shouldn't turn to our scriptures to find out what we can get away with. Furthermore, many of the things that are prohibited are usually common sense to most people anyway. And they don't need scripture to tell them so.

So we should turn to our scriptures to get inspiration and ideas for what we "should do."  Especially when it comes to going the extra mile to help somebody in need. Not because our scripture says we "have to" or that we "should."

But simply out of love.