daily word - rules or humanity?

Have you ever encountered a conflict between humanity and doctrine? Which do you think is more important? I encountered the same question in the form of whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or to satisfy your hunger on the Sabbath. I pointed out that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. This implies that the needs of humanity are greater than rule observation, for the rules exist for the benefit of people, and not the other way around. As the Lord of the Sabbath I was qualified to make this judgment. Can you think of any similar conflicts between rules and human needs today? How would your resolve them?