Let the Natural Law Work for You (Part 1)

Dear loving people,

Our topic this morning sounds weird isn’t it? Do you believe that above the imperfect laws written by man there exist a higher, perfectly just, unwritten natural law created by God? Well, the interesting fact is that human laws are valid only insofar as they correspond to the natural law, and everybody can discover for himself what this natural law demands simply by using reason.

Guess what, you are not alone in believing so; as far back as some 2,000 years ago, a Roman writer and politician Cicero in his book Laws wrote: "There is in fact a true law - namely right reason - which is in accordance with nature, applies to all men, and is unchangeable and eternal. ... It will not lay down one rule at Rome and another at Athens, nor will it be one rule today and another tomorrow. But there will be one law, eternal and unchangeable, binding at all times upon all peoples; and there will be, as it were, one common master and ruler of men, namely God, who is the author of this law, its interpreter and its sponsor. The man who will not obey it will abandon his better self and, in denying the true nature of man, will thereby suffer the severest of penalties, though he has escaped all the other consequences which men call punishment."

Cicero in such a concise statement summarized all the essential features of what became known as the natural law. First, it is the direct expression of the Divine Will. Therefore it is universal, eternal and unchangeable. Second, its rules can and must be found with the help of right reason. Third, man has a sacred obligation to obey these rules. Whenever he breaks them, he violates his own "true nature" and therefore automatically punishes himself.

Thus, the concept of a Natural Law implies that moral principles are immanent in nature, and that they tell us exactly how we should behave. As long as we obey them, we fulfill our true destiny. All our actions will not only be natural, but also perfectly moral. In other words, if everybody acted according to his nature, i.e., his "better self", the world could forever live in harmony, justice, and peace.

The truth is that even before Cicero; such an appealing idea had long been introduced by a popular school of Greek philosophers including Plato, Aristotle and then Stoics. These Greek philosophers equally only updated a much older philosophy originating from some of the earliest religious beliefs of mankind that evolved from animism through polytheism to monotheism.

Let’s get one point straight, my objective here is not to take you into an exploration of some ancient Greek mythology but rather to enable you understand the Purpose of Natural Law in relation to your quest for success. Like a strong current in a river, natural law propels life in an evolutionary direction. It is the invincible force in nature from the level of the unified field that continually creates, maintains, and evolves life.

Sitting under a tree one day, Isaac Newton saw an apple fall.  Watching the apple fall led him to theorise that there was an unseen force, which he later called gravity that causes objects to not fly off of the earth.  Natural laws like the law of gravity are fundamental truths and can be applied to our own endeavours. Life is easier if we notice the way things work and use that knowledge to our advantage. 

Obviously it is easier to work with the force of gravity than against it.  You can achieve wondrous results by trying to work with natural inclinations. So how does that apply to our lives?  Let’s take a look at other natural phenomena.  One thing we notice in nature is that babies are born small and they take a long time to grow into full maturity.  They can grow into a huge man or woman given time and a nurturing environment.

 

To be continued...