Many of you probably remember the Disney movie Bambi, about a young deer, who joins his friends – a rabbit named Thumper, and a skunk named Flower – in exploring the forest he lives in.
One of the most quoted lines from the movie comes after Thumper says about the newborn Bambi that “He doesn’t walk very good, does he?” In reply, his mother asks him what his father told him only just that morning. Thumper, obviously admonished, says, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” And then, after this, Thumper and his brothers and sisters encourage Bambi to get up and try walking again. Which he does. And then he starts to jump and frolic along with all the rabbits, and everyone is happy.
This past week, as some of you know, I was up at summer camp, and one of the things we did with the kids during something called the Caring Circle, was to walk them through 1 John 4:16, which states, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” And then we bring up 1 Corinthians 13, that famous passage that states that “Love is patient, Love is kind…” I’m sure you could quote the rest from memory. We read these passages in order to give the kids a solid foundation for treating each other with respect, for learning to listen to each other and try to understand each other. These verses are a pathway to loving one another.
There are, of course, kids who don’t listen, and say disrespectful things. And when they do, they are admonished. Sometimes by other kids in the circle, and not only the adults. Whether it was other kids, or the adults, the purpose was clear: these reminders to be respectful and to listen were guidelines for the kids. They were intended to give them tools to help them be nice and act nice. These reminders were guardrails, to keep them from falling into the temptation to send out a zinger to hurt someone else so that they could feel better about themselves. Basically, we wanted them to learn these things and internalize them, so they would adopt a spirit of kindness, rather than having to be constantly kept in check through external means.
What I’ve just described to you is the premise of that old book, “Everything I Ever Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.” Although, I personally think that the title should have been, “Everything I Ever Needed to Know, I Heard in Kindergarten,” because we all know people who have not actually learned the lessons they heard when they were young.
This is, after all, why we have laws and regulations. Because there are always people who have not internalized the rules and regulations that make for a civilized society. Some people only keep the laws out of the fear of the consequences, and not because they recognize that the laws are there to make life better for everyone. That is, they do it only to avoid getting caught, but in reality, they would prefer to live life in a complete state of selfishness, doing their own thing and getting their own way.
In the Second Lesson today, we hear Paul saying that we ought not use our freedom in Christ as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but that through love, we are to become slaves to one another. The whole law is summed up in a single command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is, if we have internalized this commandment to love one another – in the same way that we love ourselves – then we are not subject to the law.
I’m going to expand Paul’s thinking here, because we often like to think about God’s law in the same way that we think about the laws of the land. We see things as right and wrong, acceptable vs unacceptable, righteous vs sinful, and we use the Bible to determine what we are allowed to do or not do. We use it as a rulebook, as a guideline for how we are to act and what things are allowable or not allowable. But we do it in such a manner that we are looking for justification for the things we either have already done, or for justification for those things we wish to do. And sometimes we do it in such a way that what we do is at the expense of other people and their own needs and desires. And then we claim that we are justified by the Law of God, because, after all, the Good Book says that what I did is allowed and acceptable.
“Through love, become slaves to one another.”
“If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
All of the things that Paul lists after this are things that are driven by selfishness and selfish ambition. That is, they are driven by a desire to do what we want. And whenever we pursue all those things that we want, at the expense of others, then we have to realize that others will do the exact same things to us – because they are loving us only as much as we are loving them. And we eat and consume one another, taking out a pound of flesh at a time.
“If you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.”
This doesn’t mean that once we become believers in Jesus that we can then do whatever we want and not have to answer for it. No. Instead, it means that we no longer have need for the rules and regulations, the guidelines and guideposts, the guardrails to keep us on track.
Paul could just as easily have said, “Once you’ve been potty trained, you no longer need a diaper.” Because after learning about this magical thing called a toilet, you recognize that there is a better way to relieve yourself, and you will desire that better way over that old method that leaves you feeling dirty.
Just like the kids at summer camp, we tried to show them a better way to interact, to communicate, to behave with one another, in the hopes that they might internalize these messages. And that once they have internalized them, they might choose the way that does not lead to fights, to arguments, to hatred or anger, but instead leads to kindness, to community, and to love.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.”
There is no law against these things because these things lead to life. They lead to abundant life for all God’s children. And if we are led by the Spirit, we are not subject to the law. We are not subject to the law, because we choose to do those things that align with the will of God. We no longer push through to do what we want, and we no longer look to the Bible as a rule book that allows us to smudge and blur the lines of what is right or acceptable in our favor. Instead, we look to the Bible for ways that will continue to spur us on toward the goal of working for the good of all.
That is the inherent question in this passage of the law and the Fruit of the Spirit: What is motivating us? Selfish ambition, or an abundant life in Christ for all people?
[This sermon was delivered at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Wickenburg, AZ on June 29, 2025.]
