Your metaphor is that the shadow should not be noticed or at least not focused upon. But the Light should be focused upon.
Well, I would point out to you that the Bible says, "Love", and the Bible says, "Love Not". To say otherwise is to be a half-baked cake.
Love not the world, neither the things in the world. If any man love to world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the love of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Be not unequally yolked together with unbelievers.
Walk not in the council of the ungodly......
Set Not your affections of earth, but on things above.
Cast Not your pearls before swine.
So there are Bible "NOTS".
Of course, Jesus says love your enemies.
Jesus says, be good to those who despitefully use you.
Matthew 7 tell us to judge wrong-doing, but not hypocritically. But we must judge wrong-doing.
Now, I would be happy to exegete these teachings completely, but it would take all night. I do not see the point of going over these with you. You seem versed on the fundamental, orthodox teachings.
I’m also saying that the power of DO is the way you take care of the requirement of DON’T. It is an automatic corollary.
You still have a mind half sapped by Satan’s naysaying. You are still half in religion.
We’re afraid to venture into the power of DO because of the fear that we might slip and commit a DON’T, especially as we treat an area of bad sin. That’s Satan’s discouraging game and he plays it a lot on fundies. (I’m a fundie too.)
What we often do NOT see... (and actually Catholics are sometimes in a better position to employ it in principle because they actually have formal confession and absolution which is supposed to be a mirror of God’s under the direction of the Holy Spirit, they have glorified men in the body of doctrines surrounding the process which is wrong, but the abuse does not take away the use) ... when we believe we get an absolutely FOOLPROOF safety net. God says yes, go where you risk falling! Because you’ll get back up and ride that horse even better next time! He promises!
I.e. the don’ts really are not part of the cake, to use your own analogy! They are only the framework into which the cake is intended to fit when finished. Like Luther said... “sin boldly” (actually, risk sinning if you are unsure but you have a godly purpose in mind). God says to TEST His will... testing implies some kind of trial-and-error process... really we Christians are very loath to trust God’s power in this. God weeps.