Rules. My guess would be that most people have negative thoughts toward the word rules. School has many rules, written rules, and unwritten rules. Rules don’t stop once you leave school though. Life is full of rules, written and unwritten, spoken and unspoken. Why do we have rules? Wouldn’t it just be easier to do whatever you want whenever you want? Actually, no, the answer is no. Rules provide safety and structure to our lives. God gave us rules too. His rules or laws were given to us to allow us to live happily in a chaotic world.
I’ve had this thought on my mind recently about rules and just this morning, I read a devotion about rules. The author related a story about when he had to fill in as a ref for a soccer game, but he didn’t know the rules. The game quickly fell apart with players arguing, players injured, players angry, players unhappy in general until…the real ref appeared. Magically, the game took a turn for the better and the players were able to play and enjoy the game without chaos. It wasn’t magic at all. When you know the rules and follow them, you can relax and enjoy the game. Life is that way too. I won’t get a speeding ticket if I don’t go over the speed limit. (Hmmm. I think I’ve broken this one a few times…) If I do speed, I have only myself to blame. I knew the rule but ignored it. Here is the key though. I only learn from my mistake if I own it. I can try to justify my speed by using the excuse that other cars were going that speed too or that I was late for an appointment and needed to drive faster or I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t know I was speeding or…you get the picture. Only when I admit I was driving too fast can I learn and change my behavior. Sometimes we must break the rule and receive a consequence before we learn the importance of the rule for us and others.
I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. Jeremiah 31:33b NLT