This week has been filled with stories of MP's expenses and it seems to boil down to each individual's interpretation of the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law.Unusually in this case, the letter of the law seemed to allow many MP's to push things to the limit and claim for what they must have known was beyond the bounds of integrity.

Jesus often went beyond the letter of the law in order to demonstrate his love for others, healing on the Sabbath, forbidden by the law yet Jesus was able to interpret God's wishes that he would not see someone suffer simply because they were rigidly obeying the law.

The problem is one of motivation, if MP's or indeed any of us are acting in self interest, we will take the Law and make it work for us, if however we are acting out of love for others and love for God then we almost do not need a law to show us the right course. It is indeed discouraging  that so many of those elected to work for others have based their decisions entirely on self interest. Perhaps we should be focusing not on how to improve the rules but on how to change ourselves.

"And Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, Does our Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?" .....Then he said to them"If any one of you had a son or an ox which fell into a well on the Sabbath would you not pull them ouyt at once on the Sabbath itself?" Luke 14 vs 5