I have heard Christians make this comment when they are about to do something in front of a fellow believer that they know they probably should not be doing. Someone once said this to me during a conversation we were having concerning the states speed limit laws. Now the person I was speaking with told me that he often times would go 5 miles an hour over the posted speed limit on a highway or interstate on which he would be traveling. When I asked this person about obeying the laws concerning the speed limit set forth by the state, his answer to me was. "I believe that is a gray area, that God does not care one way or the other about this because even though the speed limit says 65 the police will allow you 5 miles over the speed limit on interstates and highways in most places. So I feel it is alright for me to do this." At the time, I did not argue the point as this man was my mentor and I felt that surely he would know about such things as "gray areas".

In the years following this conversation I have heard the phrase "shades of gray" said many different times concerning a variety of things, but I always remained silent. Over the years, I have struggled in my spirit concerning this very thing. One day I would say to myself, "no that cannot be right, there are no shades of gray." The next time I would think about it, I would say to myself, "well, maybe they are right and there are shades of gray."

Yesterday while driving to Church on a secluded back highway with a speed limit of 65 I looked at the clock in my blazer and saw that I was running behind schedule and I began to think about the conversation I had had years ago about shades of gray. I briefly considered nudging my speed up to 70 knowing that any local law enforcement I might pass would not stop me, as it is common knowledge they usually allow for 5 miles over the speed limit in my state. It was as that thought passed through my mind that the Spirit of the Lord arose within me and settled the matter, once and for all. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, "There are no shades of gray with God. It is either black or it is white, it is either right or it is wrong, it is either sin or it is not"! He began to show me the truth of this by using this illustration.

"If a man owns a store he is the one person who has the right to set the prices on the things that are sold in his store. The owner then hires people to oversee the running of his store and to carry out his rules of operation for his store. Now someone comes in to purchase something from his store and that person decides the price of $30.00 for the item is too high and he will only give $25.00 for it. Those the owner has hired to oversee the store and his interests in it decide that because they are understaffed, or they have more important things they need to attend to they will look the other way when the customer pays $5.00 less for the $30.00 item. Just because the one hired to oversee the running of the store decides to look the other way and let this pass does not make it the right thing for the customer to do."

The Holy Spirit was showing me that the creator and owner of the store was the one who was in the position of authority to set the prices and the rules of operation for his store and he would then hire others to carry out his wishes concerning his store, so it is with the laws of our land. We have elected people to positions of authority in our local, state, and national government to pass the laws of our land. There may be those hired who hold the position responsible for enforcing the law for the local, state, or national government, who for whatever reason will let us disobey the laws set forth to a certain degree. However, this does not mean that it is morally right for us to do so. If the law clearly states that 65 is the speed limit for that particular road, we should be obedient to that law. God's word tells us that He set up the governments of this world so that we might live a peaceable existence and as citizens, we are to obey the laws of the land.