I just had one of my old youth leaders call me up to ask if the rules they made me follow messed up my life. Now you have to understand that I was a rebel through and through. I think I caused nervous breakdowns in some of my teachers and other leaders as I was growing up. I know I caused my Dad quite a few headaches. And none of it came because I hated these people. I didn’t have anything against teachers or parents as people, I just didn’t like to follow rules. I thought I was above the law. I didn’t need anybody telling me what to do. But you know what? All that led to was an out of control life. I had no direction, no drive, no passion. I was like a rocket without any controls. And a rocket without controls is nothing more than a bomb. And I caused a lot of hurt for other people and myself.
Fortunately God put people (like my youth leaders) in my path that helped to direct that energy. They didn’t give up on rules or discipline, and at the same time, they didn’t give up on me. They loved me in spite of the difficulty I brought. They saw potential for good where there was nothing but explosive before. They knew that this rocket needed control in order to really fly.
Obviously you need good rules that come from people who care about your future. And isn’t that what Jesus did anyway? God gave us all sorts of good moral laws to live by–laws that would benefit our hearts and our families and our societies. And when we obey God, our lives are naturally better. And when Jesus came he was full of grace and loving kindness, but he didn’t give up on the rules. He fulfilled them, and gave us a great example to live by and find fulfillment in our own lives.
Of course we can choose to obey or disobey. We can choose to follow the rules or ignore them. That’s always our choice. But we also have to deal with the consequences of our decisions. God gave us free will, and if we use it to break his law, our free will carries us away from God. And if we don’t repent and start obeying, that separation becomes permanent. But we can use our free will to obey God. We can be motivated by love to do what we know in our hearts is right. We can direct our energy for good uses and learn to mount up on wings as eagles.
It took me awhile to learn the lesson. But I am very grateful for the people who taught me that having direction and control is a good thing. And you know what, the rules aren’t what save you. They are more like the training wheels of life that teach you to have self control. Rules can’t help you if you think they are only there to be broken. The sign that says “DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE!” can’t save your life after you’ve touched the wires.
So the goal is not to just follow rules, but to learn the reason behind the rules. And when you finally see past the law of God to the love that motivates it, then you start to understand why loving God and loving your neighbor makes obsolete the laws about murder and adultery or gossip and dishonoring your parents. Because if you truly love someone, you will always do right by them. And you will be living out the law without even thinking about it.
Think about it. There are STOP signs at intersections to keep people from crashing into each other. And people who are reckless and selfish will often run through them or just do the rolling stop thing. But besides being illegal and punishable by a fine, it’s dangerous and many people have been killed and injured because they went through a STOP sign. But someone who cares about themselves and others doesn’t need a sign. Even in an unmarked intersection, they will still slow down and yield and even stop to make sure that nobody gets hurt.
The Bible doesn’t say “spare the rod and spoil the child” because Jesus hates kids. Jesus welcomed kids. He loved kids. But he also knew that discipline can harness a person’s energy and give them direction and drive and build great character.
I still have that “rebellious” trait in me today, but now it is directed for good. Now I can go against a world that tells me to be selfish and self-centered. Now I can harness my energy for good instead of evil. And now my life is fulfilling, my heart is at peace, and my joy of simply being alive is always there.
So I praise the Lord for his guidance and discipline through people that loved me enough to lay down the law for my own benefit. Because it helped me to become the person I am today. And it helped me to see the benefits of following Jesus. And for that I will be eternally grateful!