October 23, 2008
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Rules and The Good Life
A rule is only a rule until you know the reason for it.
A
relationship may start as rules, just as parents make rules for their
children. But that is because the children cannot yet understand the
reasons behind those rules. It may even perhaps be that if the rules are for adults, and not children, that the adults will not understand the reason for the rule even if they were explained to them directly. In fact, they may even think that the rule is a bad rule and that not following
it would be better. But for the children who obey the rules, they
learn the reasons for the rule. Then it is not a
rule anymore—it is something the children would do anyways because it is a good way to do things.And before the reason is
understood, and it is still just a rule, we follow it because we
believe that God is good. If we disobey Him, we
are saying that we don’t think there would end up being a reason for
the rule, and thus that God is not good. But by obeying him we are putting faith in His goodness.Thus, as I heard a man on the radio once say, ‘All sin is a result of the suspicion that God is not good.’
And that gave me to thought for a long time.
Comments (11)
Mmm, too true, my friend. Too true.
Have you read the Republic? It’s fairly applicable to this topic, without, of course, the Christian perspective.
Ha, I JUST came from a Bible study where we discussed this. Some quote by John Piper…. rough paraphrase, “When we sin we are telling God that he’s not good enough for us.”
So true! Great post.
Interesting subject matter! And exactly right, too. I’ve heard many people complain about God, the Ten Commandments, and such. Often their complaint includes how all these rules kill any sort of fun. They seem to fail to realize that the rules are given for a very important reason — to protect people. In the Jews’ time, the ceremonial washing of dishes, not touching dead animals, or isolating lepers was to protect them from sickness. Even today, look at the pain that lying causes. Or stealing. Or the biggest vice for our society, fornication. How many girls are damaged — whether is a broken heart or shattered self-esteem — by youth’s loose perception of fornication? That’s not even mentioning the physical repercussions.
As for what the man on the radio said, it’s definitely part of the reason for sin, I won’t deny. But, I think that those suspicions stems from man wanting to be God. In genesis, the fall and the original sin is the best example. Why did Eve eat of the tree? Because the knowledge of good and evil would make her “like God”. Sinful man has a God-complex. Man doesn’t want to be under God’s rule. Man does want to follow God’s will. Man wants to do things man’s way, even when man’s way is worse. (Which, if you think about it, that’s exactly Satan’s problem too. Satan thinks he is God when he’s not God. He’s a creation like everything else.) The inability to trust that God is good is part of the sin problem. But, one also can’t forget the heap of pride that’s involved as well.
@Yume_Shii -
Yes, definiely – sex outside marriage is a great example. On the face of it, a person might think that God commanding to wait until marriage for sex is just a rule that takes away all the fun. The practice of restraint is frustrating – what’s the point? Who cares? What’s the difference between having sex during engagement and when you’re married? Why just one person?
So the thought becomes “If I follow God, all that means is I have to follow rule X.” There is rarely the suspicion that God made rule X because God wants the best for us. Thus He is seen as just a rule-maker, when He really loves us a lot.
I think you’re right. It’s something I can attest to experientially – God is completely inconvenient to my autonomy. Every morning, moment-by-moment during the day, I want to do and say what I want, like life is my own personal television show.
Have you ever seen the movie About a Boy? The main character narrates his thoughts throughout, and at one point says explicitly, “I’m the star of the Will show. Other characters come and go, but I’m the regular. And if Fiona’s ratings were dying, that’s sad, but not my problem.” It really made me think about whether or not that’s the way we all live our lives – like we’re the main character of a TV show. (And why wouldn’t someone assume that? We each get a room, a blog, a birthday, a car, a cell-phone - an inventory of possession in the center of which is us. And we get to pick who to marry – a historical anomaly.) And so we cling to life, holding it dearly, loving it, not knowing again that what seems an inconvenience, an unreasonable rule - forfeiting life – ends up the best thing.
“A rule is only a rule until you know the reason for it.” True.
“All sin is a result of the suspicion that God is not good.” I suppose that could be true for me–I suppose I’m a sinner, as I don’t believe in a good god, or any god, for that matter.
@StrokeofThought -
No, bit I still gather your gist. That sounds a bit like the Truman Show which, despite its name, is actually a movie. Ever seen that one? It has that premise, sort of, except the main character’s life is a TV show, and he doesn’t know it. The whole movie is about Truman vs the directors/cast/special-effects co-coordinators as he tries to escape the world/set. Definitely food for thought. Do you suppose that might have slight Biblical principles? Say everyone lives as though they are the focus of their own show. Then the revelation comes that there’s a whole reality beyond the set — people beyond the cast. What happens when man’s illusions lift from his own eyes?
Hahaha! That’s part of what I really love about God. He’s flipped so many things around so we could gain a fantastic perspective. For instance, how worldly wisdom is equivalent to foolishness in His sight. And one of my favorites, those who want to keep their life will lose it, and those who give up their life for His sake will save it. How brilliant is that, eh? How much more we can appreciate our lives after we’ve given them up to God, only to have Him, out of His goodness, give our life right back, only new and improved. The only problem some people have is that they need to give up every little tiny bit up. Actions, words, hobbies, careers, relationships. The apostle wasn’t joking when he said to us lead every thought captive to Christ.
@Yume_Shii -
Yeah, The Truman Show and two other movies do that really well – Groundhog Day and Stranger than Fiction. All three of them have a very interesting way of focusing on individual existence. I think Truman does show how we ought to recklessly desire the truth – he wanted it at all costs, braving the storm and everything, and then walking off the set. He wasn’t like Cipher in The Matrix, who asked to be put back into the matrix in such a way so that he wouldn’t know it wasn’t real. They are direct opposites, and you are right, show how we ought to seek the bigger picture outside our small daily lives.
Indeed – and he also got to the point where he considered everything else he ever had in life rubbish, since none of them had to do with Jesus. The Christian faith is riddles with paradoxes – desiring and being filled with God at the same time, the last being first, losing your life to save it, suffering being pure joy – surely, for those who understand no explanation is necessary, and for those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.
Yeah, I was thinking PDF might work better than copy-pasting my file, so I guess I’ll do that. I’m just not sure how to get a link for a PDF…? Email might turn out to be my only option. Hm. Maybe it’s time for some more Googling . . . .
That’s an interesting post. I can see how your assumptions could be true. Rules are very different things when people know what their basis is built on. I think that people do tend to unconsciously decide that things are bad if they only see the rules and not the reasons, too. It makes sense that they would then reject God without understanding Him or His rules. People tend to blame God for a lot of the junk that happens every day on earth. I guess it’s one of those things that satan tries to point out to people. If they think God causes tradgedy, they’ll steer clear of Him.
*~*Laura*~*
@StrokeofThought -
That’s definitely what I admired about Trueman. It’s not easy, for sure, for he was leaving behind everything he knew. His home, his family, his job, even personal aspects like security and — in the eyes of others — sanity. One can only hope that if faced by similar circumstances, one could cut completely free of one’s old life. It’s rather like the apostles too, if you think about it. They dropped everything in an instant to follow after Jesus. Ah, God just has that effect on people I suppose. *grins*
I never like Cipher from the Matrix, but I understand his reasoning. Truth is not the easiest thing to accept sometimes. When you search after it, you’ll need to be willing to accept it when you find it, because what you find, you may not necessarily like. I think the contrast between Trueman and Cipher really sums up a profound difference in people. Some would rather have the truth, regardless of the cost or what that truth might be. And some would rather hide away from it, refusing to accept what they don’t like.
How true what you said is! “Surely, for those who understand no explanation is necessary, and for those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.” I couldn’t have phrased it better myself. It’s definitely one of the stranger things I’ve encountered in society. The obvious can waggle right in front of people’s noses, and they’d never even notice it, much less understand it. It really show how complete and utter our dependence on God is, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.