Compassion - an Individual Mandate

"Justice Tempered by Mercy" a statue  at Cumberland School of Law at Samford University

Here is something that I would like everyone to consider. There is a conflict in understanding between those who espouse universal compassion and those who call for equal application of the law.
Compassion vs. Law
Compassion is an individual mandate given in the New Testament. The New Testament is the covenant given to individuals to bring them back to God. The Old Testament is the covenant given to nations to guide them in the path of justice, law and duty.
Squishy Christianity
When we embrace the mercy of the New Testament and ignore the justice of the Old Testament, we get a squishy, mushy form of Christianity that has no spine to stand on its own. 
Mercy and tolerance become the watchwords that guide our daily interactions in a selfish world. We tolerate evil because we don't want to seem judgmental or intolerant. How quickly we forget that law was given to guide man in the path that he should go. If there is no law, there is no punishment. If there is no punishment, there is no fear of doing wickedly, and men go according to their own hungers. They do not moderate themselves, and they do not set expectations for those around them to behave moderately.
Without the law to govern our lives, our compassion can be easily swayed by the tides of public sentiment. We must, therefore, hold ourselves to obey the Law given, and require that our representative government do the same.
Law
The Law was given to set up a system of government where justice could prevail. An individual rendering of the Law gave us the Scribes and Pharisees, who touted their own righteousness through obedience to the system.
New Testament is for individuals. Old Testament is for nations. The nation is not required to conform to the individual mandate of compassion, and loving our neighbors - that is my job, and yours. The governments we support - at every level - are required to administer the law in justice and equity, to preserve freedom. Government is required to do what government does best - administer the law through a filtered democracy; in other words, to be a republic.
Rendering Appropriate Action
"Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s."  (Matt. 22:21 KJV) Live by the Law. God holds this world in His hands. "He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again." (Job 12:23). To render our souls as an offering unto God, we must live according to the Law. That includes active citizenship and participation in the political and social process. It is not digging your heels into the sand and refusing to budge; when you do that, the waves wash out the sand from underneath you.
Rendering appropriate action includes holding representatives accountable for their actions - good and bad. Rendering is not a passive activity. When the tide threatens to undermine all you have built, build a floodwall. Do not allow the natural course of the world to destroy your contribution to history. 
Mercy and Justice
The New Testament does not replace the Old Testament. Mercy does not replace justice. We need to find in ourselves the balance of justice and mercy that will guide us in our interactions in our community and family. Obedience to the law, and the requirement that others also obey the law, ensures that we are protected and our rights are preserved. Compassion and mercy ensure that we will not let our neighbors go hungry, or cold, or without clothing in their time of need.
Have a spine. Stand up for what you believe. Expect others to behave according to the law. Express your disappointment when they don't. Do not allow a squishy form of tolerance to govern your life.
To be a disciple means you discipline your life to follow the higher law.

Purity = Strength

 Excellence in character is a rare trait in public lives today. When a man decides who he is and lives that life, there is an honor that cannot be feigned.
We can look to Alfred Lord Tennyson's retelling of the Arthurian Legend in Idylls of The King for an example: Sir Galahad, the Pure.

"My good blade carves the casques of men,
   My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
   Because my heart is pure."   

(http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/Galahad.htm)

  It is when men try to disguise who they are that trust is eroded. There may be something slightly off with that person that we may sense. We might not be able to identify what is wrong, but most people can tell when someone is not being true to themselves or to others. A pure heart lights the countenance of the person. Light drives away darkness.
We prepare ourselves now for another election cycle. Who do we see on the screens and hear on the radios? Are they honorable, or are they what CS Lewis referred to as "little men"? That is up to the individual to educate themselves and decide.

 "Democracy demands that little men should not take big ones too seriously; it dies when it is full of little men who think they are big themselves."

--'Notes on the Way' Time and Tide

Sir Galahad demanded of himself purity. He knew that his strength came from the disciplined rejection of the morally degrading thoughts, actions and patterns of living that tore down other men of his time.
Do we demand purity of ourselves? Of our families? Our compatriots? Our elected officials?
As we demand purity of ourselves, we improve in clarity of thought, insight and knowledge. If our eyes are on the right things, our lives will fill with light. Light is truth. Light rejects darkness. By being the people that we would desire at our head, we wordlessly require those around us to live up to the same standards. A good man can improve his neighborhood just by living true. Likewise, a bad man can degrade a neighborhood if his neighbors do not watch themselves. But you notice that a bad man does not stay long in a good neighborhood. Darkness does not long stay in the light.
Let us then be as Galahad. He knew that his heart was pure, and he was stronger for it.
A strong government is one that recognizes its strength is derived from the consent of the governed. The biggest man is he that will not demean the little man for being little. All have their place. As we elect honest people of integrity, no matter their political persuasion, the dialogue will improve, and the system of government can and will purify itself.

More CS Lewis quotes - http://www.comnett.net/~rex/cslewis.htm

Sent To the Principles

Every day we face many challenges. The world is a clever place. It keeps throwing things at you that are both unanticipated and tempting. How is the best way to deal with this barrage of media images and ideas?
The only way comes from the scriptures. We must be built on a solid foundation of principles. When we are, we can trust in the following:

 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4:14-15)

Jesus Christ is the true foundation upon which we can build. A solid foundation of truth will anchor us in this maelstrom of information that pummels us each day.
What principles should we learn? Let’s end with a list, given by Joseph Smith in The Articles of Faith. (Articles of Faith 1:13)

Honesty, Truthfulness, Chastity, Benvolence, Virtue, Doing Good to All Men, Believing [truth], Hope, Endurance, Seeking after that which is Virtuous, Lovely, of Good Report or Praiseworthy.

Following these inspired words will give us our principled foundation upon which we can make our decisions. When new situations arise that may or may not be good, compare them to the principles listed above. If the idea or temptation doesn’t fit, get rid of it.

So the best way to deal with unruly ideas? Send them to the principles.