“You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19.14

The making of public policy in America today is, of course, a mixed blessing. Good laws often result, though they can become cumbersome, if not onerous, when governments try to do more than they should.

For example, one could argue that the Americans with Disabilities Act goes too far in requiring concessions in the workplace and public places for those who are physically challenged. I feel quite certain that Act could be improved, if only to lessen the grip of federal regulations on businesses and communities.

But the principle is valid: Communities and people need to pay special attention to valuing the lives of those who are physically challenged, both as a way of loving our neighbors and in order to help them invest their lives in fruitful and productive endeavors. In our text the idea of “cursing” a blind person suggests an attitude of scorn and contempt. They despise the blind who consider them a nuisance to be loathed rather than a neighbor to be loved. The same is true of those who refuse to show neighbor-love to those in their community who must make their way in life despite one or another physical liability.

We may put stumbling blocks before those with physical challenges either consciously or unconsciously. Neither is acceptable to the Lord. This statute does not specifically address a requirement of government; it speaks first to individuals and how they express God’s love to their neighbors. Thus it reminds us that government is not the only source for public policies that encourage neighbor-love. The “Wounded Warrior Project” is an excellent example of private enterprise focused on helping those with physical challenges to lead meaningful, enjoyable, and productive lives.

Churches and Christian agencies have long been at the forefront of making life better and easier for those who are physically challenged. Perhaps the best-known example of such an effort is the ministry “Joni and Friends.” Churches and individual believers can set public policy by example, if not by statute. Not long ago, Susie and I watched The Hiding Place, the story of the Ten Boon family’s effort to rescue persecuted Jews in World War II Holland. The film offers a wonderful reminder of the role Christians played in helping those whose only crime was to have been born with a different genetic heritage than their oppressors. Being Jewish is not, of course, a physical liability or disability, even though it was certainly regarded as such by the Nazis. These were people who needed their neighbors to love them, and the Ten Boons, like many other Christian families during that period, understood their duty to show such love to their persecuted neighbors.

Many fine ministries and secular works exist to help those with physical challenges enjoy full and fruitful lives. Government programs – such as the excellent Maryland program for assisting autistic children, like our grandson Joe – are also worthy of Christian support. Surely when Jesus mentioned “the least of these” as being among His brethren, He must have had many such physically-challenged individuals in mind. His own ministry of healing and restoring those with various forms of disability both affirms the teaching of God’s Law and challenges His followers to make such efforts a priority in their lives and ministries.

Neighbor-love requires that we take seriously our responsibility to pursue – by private initiative, government statute, and personal example – policies which demonstrate the love of God to those in our communities who must make their way in life under the additional burden of physical challenges.

As God daily condescends to our weaknesses, frailties, and failings, so we must have similar regard for one another at all times. And especially is this so, as the Law of God reminds us, when it comes to those whose lot in life requires them to make the best use of their opportunities in spite of physical limitations or disabilities.

Those for whom the Law of God is regarded as a thing to be despised or ignored do well to consider such statutes as these, for they remind us of the heart of love behind the Law and the economy of love it seeks to foster and sustain.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and the compilation, The Law of God,and study the question for yourself.