You are remembered for the rules you break. ~ Douglas MacArthur
Rules, rules, rules! For everything you do in life, there are always rules… and sometimes the “rule book” seems to be much bigger than the actual activity you want to do. Who makes the rules? Who enforces the rules? And then what happens if you break the rules? Ug!
My oldest daughter is learning how to drive, and it is a very nerve-wracking experience to say the least. She is very much like any other excited teenager who is getting comfortable with power, control, and impending independence… she is ready to go at full tilt-boogie! However, she is also learning that driving is not so simple… because there are a TON of rules! “Why does driving have to be so complicated?” she asked me last night after she nearly killed us, the guy in the lane beside us driving a nearly new Dodge Charger, and an annoyed-looking driver of a Budweiser truck. Through gritted teeth, I merely said, “It is what it is.”
What I didn’t explain to her is that rules govern everything because somewhere along the line, someone made a mistake that was noteworthy enough that a rule had to be made to keep that same thing from happening again. Rules are made to protect us. And what I couldn’t explain to her is that following the rules is simply a choice. Most of the time when we break the rules, we don’t get caught by others; we follow rules to maintain integrity and so that we can have a clean conscience. In reality, following rules is up to us, whether they be man’s laws, God’s laws, or simply matters of morality or ethics. Because most of the time we “get away with” the minor infractions, it often leads to trouble when we move on to major infractions. When we break “road rules”, we are monitored by police and we may get ticketed. With moral rules, what are the consequences for lying? Who is going to give you a ticket for adultery? Who monitors those issues?
Contrary to popular belief, God is not a naysayer, just throwing out a bunch of rules for us that are impossible for us to follow. On the contrary, He tells us that we can literally do whatever we want to! I Corinthians 10:23, “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive.” What that means to us is that, yes, we have ultimate freedom in our decisions, yet many of the decisions we make can literally destroy us. We have the ultimate choice in what we do, but it might lead us to heartache, devastation, and ultimately, to destruction. But if we learn to lean on God, and if we learn to follow His ways instead of a list of “don’ts”, and if we learn to follow the path of integrity and honor instead of a list of “rules”, then I firmly believe we will be rewarded, not necessarily in riches, but in knowing we have lived a rich life.
Why does life have to be so complicated? It is what it is… And what it is is up to you.
Catch you on the flip side,
Ang
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