Crazy Laws by Phil Callaway

Today on Laugh Again, we present our first episode of We Kid You Not. Wherein we will tell you things you can’t believe, but they are possibly true. Are you ready? Here are some crazy laws from actual places. We think some of them may be exaggerated, but here’s what we’re told:

• In Samoa, it’s a crime to forget your wife’s birthday (I don’t think it was a man who passed that law.)
• In England, it is illegal to die in the House Of Parliament. (Just don’t do it. If you’re gonna die, please leave the building.)
• In Mohave county, Arizona, a decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up. (That’s a great idea. What if you stole chocolate? Would they make you eat all of it?)
• In Finland, taxi drivers must pay royalties if they play music in their cars for paying customers.
• In Alaska it is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane. (I should say so.)
• In Connecticut, for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.

All these rules remind me a bit of a group called the Pharisees.

They took the basic laws God gave and turned things into a competition. For example, one of the 10 Commandments was, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” The Pharisees literally made hundreds of rules that detailed what that meant. One rule said you couldn’t walk through a field on the Sabbath because your sandal might clip a grain of wheat, and if it did you would be harvesting grain. That was work on the Sabbath; that was sin. You couldn’t spit on the ground on the Sabbath either because your spit would create mud and this was making mortar. Shame on you. Many of the Pharisees believed that following these rules guaranteed their righteousness. But Ephesians 2 tells us that, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” If you’re trying to live a righteous life by working harder at it, you can stop. It isn’t gonna work. But when you put your faith in Jesus you get righteousness as a free gift, God cleanses you of your sin and gives you a brand new heart with new desires. I hope that has you smiling.

Which is a good thing if you live in Milan, Italy. You see, it is a legal requirement there to smile at all times, with the exception of funerals and hospital visits. (We kid you not!)

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Phil Callaway

Phil Callaway, the host of Laugh Again, is an award-winning author and speaker, known worldwide for his humorous yet perceptive look at life.

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