Every time I back the car out of the driveway, I am subject to rules. I grew up in a church with rules. As a child, our home had rules. We’ve all had rules at school as children and on the job as adults. Well, you get the picture. Life is full of rules.
Why are there rules? Well, it seems kind of obvious; rules are intended to protect us from something, to point us in a better direction, or maybe to provide us with a safer way of doing whatever it is that we are doing.
So, why do people tend to fuss so much about rules?!
Why do we keep the rules? Simply to keep the cops from stopping us and to keep ourselves out of jail? Maybe to stay on the good side of those who have responsibility for us, the ones to whom we are accountable? No; I think we obey traffic laws to keep ourselves, and everyone else on the roads, safe! We tend to obey rules because it makes life better.
As kids we obeyed our parents, probably to keep out of trouble or because we trusted them. But later on, we learned that they gave us the rules to keep us safe. But maybe before that, along the way to growing up, when we became smarter, when we thought we knew better than them, then we began to intentionally break the rules. And if we have lived long enough, we’ve probably learned that they were mostly right.
So, (pause), what about God’s “rules”? Did He just make them up? Or did someone impersonate God and make up silly rules just to irritate us and make life less fun?
I think, that if we’d just think, we’d realize that every rule God ever made had a purpose and was meant to protect us from some bad thing or to provide us with some good thing. God’s rules are not a way for you and me to earn enough points to get to heaven. None of us can be good enough at rule keeping that we can earn our way into God’s good graces! He has given the guidelines and if you’ll ask for His help, He will help you!
And another thing that complicates the process, not everyone agrees on just what the “rules” are. Well, I suggest you start reading the Bible for yourself to figure it out instead of just trusting someone else to tell you what God has had to say. Yes, it’s a little difficult. But, yes, you are smart enough to figure it out because God will help you, if you are honest enough to learn and willing to obey his “rules” or “guidelines” once He helps you find them. Are you? Will you?
Everything is About God 