Well, if it isn't one extreme its another. I think it was Martin Luther who used the analogy of a drunk on a horse. He falls into the left ditch and vows that next time he'll fall in the right one. It never occurs to him to try and stay on the horse.
Last night we had a class discussion on Sabbath. The meaning of Sabbath. The importance of Sabbath. The command of Sabbath. It was incredible to hear how naturally we kick against this command. We immediately went to work trying to find an out ("we don't work as much as they did back then", "we don't need more free time"), hoping against hope that we wouldn't be forced to take a day and dedicate it to God. Arguement after arguement failed until the point was made that a strict observance of Sabbath was "legalistic".
Legalism. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. Of course, I am as against legalism as the next guy, but I am sick of the legalism of being against legalism. We want to know what the rules are, we find out they're hard, and we cry legalism in order to get out of them. And we become as legalistic as the worst of Pharisees.
GK Chesterton is famous for stating that "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried." Let us all cry guilty. But many members of the church have discovered a solution. Don't like to read your Bible? Shout about how the memorization of scripture is legalistic. Don't pray enough? Anyone who tries to make you feel guilty for that is a legalist. Can't seem to pause from your busyness (even when we aren't working, few of us ever pause)? No need. Those 10 Commandments? Those are Old Testament law. And anyone with half a brain will tell you, the law is legalistic.
No doubt it can be and has been. Jesus himself refused to bend to a legalistic approach to Sabbath which would keep him from healing someone. But this same Jesus often went off by himself to practice Sabbath. To not do so, to ask "do I have to?" is as legalistic as you can get.
Imagine if on my wedding day I had interrupted the vows to ask "Do I really have to honor her? Do I have to be faithful? Do I really have to love her as Christ loved the church?" Imagine if I refused to get married if marriage was going to have "legalistic rules" like "you can't cheat on your spouse".
Freedom from legalism means that we move from rules to relationship, it doesn't mean the rules cease to be important. Freedom from legalism means we move from "have to do" to "get to do", it doesn't mean there isn't still something "to do". I heard a guy say once "If I talked to my wife as much as I talk to God, she'd leave me." I'm not suggesting a legalistic approach that has you comparing time spent with wife to time spent with God, but I think its time to remind ourselves of the importance of this time. Sabbath is more than a principle, it is a practice, a practice that makes us perfect. It is a time to rest, reflect, remember and rely. Let's get back to doing the things Christians are called to do and stop avoiding them by crying "legalism".
