New Reminders: Rules

One of my favorite authors (Robert Fulghum) made a list of common-sense rules for home repair projects that went something like this:

♦ Always work alone. An audience is hardly ever helpful.
♦ Keep your tools clean and your language cleaner.
♦ Pray! If God Himself can’t fix it, what makes you think you can.
♦ If you do something stupid, but it works, it wasn’t stupid.
♦ If it involves technology, buy a new one or consult a child.

Sometimes rules are helpful, even the ones that tend to keep us from starting something before we know where we are headed. That is the principle of, “When all else fails; read the directions.” Some of us even apply a similar attitude to managing our lives.  We take off aimlessly trying to lead a Christian life without bothering to consult the rules Christ laid out for us to follow. To do that we need to:

♦ Get to know and love God though studying His word––the Bible.
♦ Pray for guidance, inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives.
♦ Wait for the answer. Sometimes it’s “yes”, sometimes “no” and sometimes God says: “Wait until I show you the way”.
♦ Do everything out of love for God and your fellow human beings.
♦ Do nothing that will bring dishonor to God or anyone, including yourself.

Of course, there are more specific rules in the ten commandments and there are long lists of values from Jesus’ teachings that we can aspire to.

Living as a Christian generally requires us to be open to God’s will and be ready to follow the sprit’s leading.  It’s when we try to go it alone and make up the rules as we go along, that can get us into trouble. Yes, God expects us to use our creative mind to design the projects He lays before us, but the best laid plans, can go far astray if we think it is up to us to take charge without first considering what God wants us to accomplish.  Following all of the rules in the world will not save us, and all of the beautifully designed projects we can think of will not accomplish God’s will if we don’t ask Him what he wants first.  Worse yet, if we ask, but don’t wait for the answer, our lives will fail and we won’t even understand why.

Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us to be fruitful by following Christ’s example: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  And Romans 12:1-3 says “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”