Once upon a time there was a people who for the most part knew what was right and did so because it was the loving thing to do.  Eventually it became less about loving and more about what was legally right and what was legally wrong.   Soon it was just about following the rules.  Perhaps they were afraid of lawsuits.  Or afraid of people.  Even the “church” people did the same thing.   The people forgot about compassion, love, justice and mercy and came all about doing something to avoid getting in trouble with “the law.”  Then Jesus showed up.  You can read about it here:  The Gospel of Matthew (esp Mt 23).