Why the Rules Matter

I remember coaching recreational soccer to kids just learning the game’s rules.

The hardest soccer rule for kids to grasp is to not use their hands. We had to constantly stop the game whenever a kid picked up a ball and started running with it. In every other game or sport they have played, they have used their hands, so they had to learn that this was a specific rule for this new sport.

As you get older, there are more and more rules that you must learn to continue to be good at your sport. Coaches expect you to learn the rules that they have provided to you. If the coach forgets to tell you a rule, it is on them if you break it; they are responsible for teaching you what you should know.

There are a lot of rules in Scripture. Sometimes, we see rules as restrictive, boring and unnecessary. Everything in Scripture serves a purpose, even if you can’t see or understand it. God’s Word is a guide to what He knows is best for us. The rules in Scripture are not to restrict your life but to let you live a life of true freedom. The more our relationship with Christ grows, the more we desire to honor and respect what His Word tells us to do. Our fear of the Lord means we hold weight to His words and law. We want to honor God because we love God.

When we read Scripture, we are enlightened to the rules and advice of God. Once we are enlightened, we have a choice: will we trust that God knows what’s best for our life and follow His Word, or will we listen to our flesh and the world and think we know what’s best for our life?