One of the tenets of Scripture is that the person who sins will be responsible for their sins. It’s mentioned emphatically in Ezekiel 18, and is repeated throughout the New Testament. If you sin, you will answer for those sins, not anyone else’s.
Unless, that is, you have an ox that happens to kill someone.
In Exodus 21, God lays out the responsibilities of property owners to care for their property, up to and including their behavior. This isn’t an issue in regards to something inhuman, such as land or money. Animals, though? That’s fair game. If an ox kills someone, for instance, the owner is responsible.
Obviously, God doesn’t just have oxen in mind. The same could apply to horses, cows, or any other animal that is left unchecked.
But notice why the owner is put to death. If he had known that the animal was “given” to violence, and yet didn’t do anything about it, he’s just as guilty as the animal that killed the person. They’re executed together.
This represents a nuance of law that is most commonly ignored, especially in our times. In modern days, so many of us throw our hands up and say that we had “nothing to do” with a certain crime. It wasn’t our fault. Someone else pulled the trigger. Someone else drove recklessly. Someone else was angry.
But were you an accessory in any way? You may not have been the one that ran the red light and hit a family of four (he’ll pay for that crime himself), but were you cutting him off and driving with road rage? You may not have pulled the trigger, but did you leave out the loaded gun?
God’s standard of justice goes past the act itself and answers the question of who’s really responsible? The answer could be one person, or it could be several. That realization forces us to not just think about what we can get away with, but how we may have contributed to the problems that occur around us.
A good property owner knows everything about their property. Chances are, the ox that gored a man to death has shown signs of aggression in other ways. They saw it, others saw it, and they all warned the owner. His failure to do something about it shows a complete disregard for the safety of everyone nearby.
Let’s take this lesson to heart and be better in everyday life. Instead of trying to shuffle blame from ourselves, think about your influence. What dangers can you minimize? What problems can you solve before they become bigger issues? A few seconds spent in careful consideration of your surroundings can reap major benefits down the road.
