O.K., new rule: No more rules!
Each of us cherishes freedom. It’s frustrating when somebody cramps our style with a series of constraints. Road signs. Federal regulations. Mean old teachers.
One chief complaint about religion is that it consists of a pile of prohibitions. It’s almost as if God is a Cosmic Killjoy. Particularly, many resist or flat out reject the Old Testament seeing it as a myriad of rules, regulations, and restrictions. Read Leviticus lately? Case in point. More regulations than the Federal Government. Well, almost.
Rationale & Response:
- Consider the historical context of the Old Testament. God was introducing a completely new paradigm; a covenant based society/religion. They were to be distinct from every other people and world view/cultures heretofore. There was no existing template. Detailed instructions were necessary.
- Second, this is the “infant stage” of progressive revelation. Meaning, God is disclosing Himself in real time. The later New Testament assumes understanding of his covenant, and thus maturity in the faith. Think of parenting; you provide more instructions for a minor than a maturing adult.
- God is saving them from long-term confusion and pain. When we tell our children of life’s dangers beforehand, we spare them potential calamity. They don’t have to explore, they already know. Example: drugs, hot stove, etc.
- Boundaries aren’t all bad. Rules of the road enhance driving, wouldn’t you say? Tennis is played a whole lot better according to the rules. Ravi Zacharias reminds, “The game is played not to protect the rules; rather, the rules are made to protect the game.”
- Love sometimes must say, “No.” My dog would be ecstatic if I removed his confining fence. He would be free to follow his nose! He does not grasp that he also would be hit by a car, stolen, or starve. We angrily grumble to God about restrictions. We have no clue as to the dangers awaiting us, which only He can see.
- There’s something to be said for having someone/something transcendent in your life. Anyone who becomes a law unto themselves, normally runs amuck!
- Finally, here’s a twist. We each have the capacity for enjoyment. Either we stumbled upon it by “evolutionary accident” or we were created with it...by God. If God made us to experience pleasure, why? Hence, you don’t suppose God is capable of having fun?... Perhaps He isn’t a Cosmic Killjoy after all.
G.K. Chesterton summed perfectly, “Before you remove a fence, always ask why it was put there in the first place.” Some things are worth protecting. Certainly one of them, is you.