I am the Law, and the Law is not Mocked

Last night I saw Les Miserables. Hugo’s work has endured because ideas and principles pulled from the story still apply today. This movie made me think. This movie made me question.

Javert. Such a beautifully conflicted character. To him, life is black and white. Everything fits beautifully into a set of rules-the law.

I am the law, and the law is not mocked.

To Javert, the law is the beginning and the end. It gives his life meaning and purpose. It is how he makes sense of the world. He is rigid and unyielding in doing his duty. He should be the hero of the story because he strives with all his might for that which is lawful. That which falls within the rules.

But as a reader of the story, we readily see Javert’s fault. He is focused so much on the law that he has missed the more important question. The question should not be whether something is lawful, but whether something is right. The former is so easily measured, the latter so very elusive.

Jesus gave his followers two simple commandments. Love God. Love your neighbor. The other commandments, he said, all come from these two.

But this poses a problem. How do you measure love of god? How do you measure love of neighbor? It’s difficult. So we find other things to measure. Things that are easy. Have you done your home teaching? If so, you must love your neighbor. Have you attended the three-hour block? If so, you must love God. Have you paid your ten percent? Do you drink coffee or tea? Do you accept a church calling without question? Do you watch Rated R movies? Did you earn your Eagle Scout badge? Do you wear dresses that cover the shoulder and fall below the knee?

These things are easy to measure. These things are easy to quantify. But these are not commandments. These are measurements we have developed ourselves. Love God. Love you neighbor. That is what God instructed us to do.

Those who see only in black and white are often both quick to judge, and judge harshly. I will admit, I sat in the theater and thought of how sometimes our Mormon culture can lead to a congregation filled with Javerts. Parents kick out their own children because they are gay. Members threaten other members with violence if they wear pants to church. It is not an exaggeration to say that this attitude can lead to pain, suffering, misery, divorce, and even death.

Maybe I was even a little smug, assuming I was more like Valjean than Javert.

Then we get to the beautiful scene in Les Mis during The Attack. The students capture Javert, and Jean Valjean takes him into an alley and releases him. Javert accuses Valjean of wanting to make a bargain. But he warns Valjean that he will hunt him forever. Because it is the law. Javert is strong and valiant. He will fight for the law to his death. Javert uses the phrase, “Once a thief, forever a thief,” and Valjean answers with these beautiful words.

You are wrong, and always have been wrong.
I’m a man, no worse than any man.
You are free, and there are no conditions,
No bargains or petitions.
There’s nothing that I blame you for  
You’ve done your duty, nothing more.
If I come out of this alive, you’ll find me  
At number fifty-five Rue Plumet
No doubt our paths will cross again.

One line pierced my heart. There’s nothing that I blame you for, you’ve done your duty, nothing more. Javert was trying to do what was right. He was trying his hardest. In a way, he was as valiant as Valjean.

And Valjean recognized this. Instead of hating him, instead of judging him, instead of killing him, he saw the goodness in him. He saw him as an honest man. Surely there must have been love in Valjean’s heart to let Javert go free.

In the end, Jean Valjean didn’t beat Javert. In the end, he loved Javert.

And so I sat in the theater. Uncomfortable. Over the last year I have let a bit of anger, frustration, bitterness, and maybe even hate enter my heart. I have not been like the protagonist Jean Valjean. Or the priest with the candlesticks. I have not loved like I should have. Like Christ commands.

And yet I felt confused. I had just sent out a message on twitter-a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

When I witness actions I perceive to be wrong . . . shouldn’t I add my voice to those who speak against them? Shouldn’t I open a dialogue with others and try to learn? Try to teach? But how do I do this and refrain from judging? Refrain from letting bitterness and anger creep into my heart?

I cannot say that I know the answer. I came to a conclusion, one that I will try in the new year. It comes back to the very commandments that Jesus gave his followers.

Love.

I must watch as people hold to the law. As they see things in black and white, and see life differently from me. I must remember that these are people who are trying to do their duty. They are trying to be valiant as they understand it. And I must love.

But at the same time, I must also not be silent about things that matter. I must at once speak out against that which I believe to be wrong, but still love those who are doing it. I must recognize that they are trying to do their best, just as I am trying to do mine.

I cannot show them love on the surface. I can’t just say it. I must actually love. Completely, and with no conditions. No bargains or petitions.

Somehow I feel hope. More hope than I’ve felt in a long time. Perhaps I can move past the hurt and anger and bitterness creeping into my heart. My goal for 2013 is a simple one. It is to be like Jean Valjean-to be a man, no worse than any other man.

-Submitted by Marion