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Almost daily, the media reports how people evade laws by finding loopholes. They take bribes to close deals; dump toxic waste into water; cheat others to get ahead. People also look for moral loopholes to justify how they treat others. In Matthew 15, we find Jesus chastising people who evaded God’s moral laws by creating a nice loophole. The Pharisees avoided the care of their parents by saying what they might give their parents was dedicated to God. By creating and using this loophole, they clearly violated God’s moral law to support their parents. Jesus said evil attitudes are rooted in our hearts. He said, “from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander.” So since the heart of our problem is the problem of our heart, the best way to change an evil society is to foster the transformation of our hearts. The Gospel of Christ is God’s remedy for this inner change. When we repent, accept, and submit to Him, God’s Spirit inside of us transforms our hearts. This inner change leads to our outward behavior.
