S: Leviticus 6:1-5 The Lord told Moses what the people must do when they commit other sins against the Lord: You have sinned if you rob or cheat someone, if you keep back money or valuables left in your care, or if you find something and claim not to have it. When this happens, you must return what doesn't belong to you and pay the owner a fine of 20 percent.
O: Mosaic law has this feature about restitution for the victim which seems to be missing from modern criminal law in most countries. When a person is found guilty of a crime that caused someone else some kind of loss, they must pay them back 120% -- so that the person who suffered the loss will be compensated for their loss.
The closest to this in modern law in most countries is that the injured party could do a civil suit for damages. But that's a separate court case, and not tied into the original criminal court case. The victim must spend his own money to engage lawyers and have a whole 'nother trial. This, I my opinion, a deficiency in most modern legal systems.
A: If you are a lawmaker, then you could try to put forth legislation to correct this injustice in your jurisdiction. However, what is the application here for those of us who are just ordinary citizens?
We as individual believers have our own Spirit-guided conscience which will convict us of sin. When we realise that we have sinned against someone, perhaps the application is that we should, of our own initiative, take action to restore to them what we have cost them, when possible. Yes, the person may still forgive us of that and not require it of us, but perhaps we should offer first?
I must admit that though I have thought that this is a deficiency in the law for a long time, I haven't been really conscious about it all the time with regards to my own conduct. Well, I have left notes on cars that I've nicked in the parking lot, so maybe I'm not all bad ^‿^
P: Father, thank You for Your salvation through Jesus Christ. We could never pay enough restitution to make up for our sins against You -- but Jesus bore the burden for us! In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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