People are so important to God that Jesus fulfilled the law on their behalf!
Musings in CMi and the Bible is a 12-part series on each of the 12 Dimensions of Culture of the Cultural Mapping Inventory (CMi). You can find the overview article here. This is part eight on the cultural dimension of Decision-Making.
The Decision-Making Dimension of CMi looks at what influences your decision-making most. Do rules take preference over everything else or do relationships take preference over everything else?
This Cultural Dimension can cause quite a conflict when people on opposite ends of the continuum interact.
God’s Priorities
The Bible tells us that the two most important things for God are his holiness (his name/reputation) and mankind, who is created in the image of God.
When we look at the Torah, the law of Moses, we see a plethora of rules and it looks like God is mainly a god of rules. Rules and laws are indeed important to God (God created many of them including the laws of nature), and we need to keep two things in mind.
Firstly, the world around the Israelites was full of gods (and their human representatives) who were very capricious in their dealings with men, and unbridled retaliation between people was the norm. The law of Moses was (and is) fair and just, and limited retaliation. Hence, the Israelites celebrate a holiday called “The joy of the law”.
Secondly, the law of Moses was not a means to become righteous but a means to stay righteous once you were accepted as God’s people. It was the blood on the doorpost during the first Passover that redeemed the people and gave them life. Circumcision was the outward sign that one entered this covenant. The rules that God gave the Israelites through Moses were meant to keep them alive in the presence of a holy and righteous God.
Why were all these rules and laws important? Because GOD is HOLY.
God created a perfect universe and a perfect world for men to live in. However, when God decided to create mankind, He decided to give them the second place in his kingdom. Lucifer, the most important archangel was relegated to third place, and he rebelled. Sin entered the universe. Eons later when God created Adam & Eve as the first of mankind, Lucifer (or satan) deceived Adam & Eve into joining him in this rebellion and sin entered into our world and into the human heart. Laws and rules were given to expose sin and keep its influence limited. At the same time, these laws revealed God’s holiness and our inherent sinfulness. Through a series of covenants, God provided a solution for sin. The latest and final covenant, the death and resurrection of Jesus, has the power to set us free from sin.
Why did Jesus have to die in our place? Why did God not just forgive people who repent?
There are many reasons why, but we will not cover them here. This musing is not a theological exposé. It’s a musing about cultural polarities.
In Jesus’ death and resurrection, God both kept the law He instituted (Jesus fulfilled it on our behalf), and He showed us how important humans are to Him. Keeping and fulfilling the law showed that rules and order are important to God (He created those rules). It also showed how important his name is to Him, as it signifies his holiness and righteousness. Dying in our place showed how much God loves mankind and how important relationships are to Him. He wants us in his kingdom, living forever with Him, at all costs!
Did Jesus get the short end of the stick by dying on a cross?
No, He did not. The Bible says that Jesus voluntarily took up this task, and He endured the pain and humiliation of the cross for the glory and victory that was ahead of Him (Hebrews 12, Philippians 2). He did not get the short end of the stick, satan did. Satan ended up from being 3rd in God’s Kingdom, to being thrown into hell, a place of eternal punishment especially created for him. (Matthew 25, Revelation 21).
The Decision-Making Dimension
In our cultural preference, some tend to gravitate to being more Rules-oriented as a way to bring order to their lives and to society, while others tend to be more Relationship-oriented. However, being rules-oriented is not an excuse to ignore people; they are still important. However, being Relationship-oriented is not an excuse to to ignore rules either. Good rules are set in place to ensure everyone is important and concepts like honor, justice and reputation are important to God. Regardless of our preference on this Dimension of Culture, we need to learn to appreciate both.
Published March 7, 2025
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