Do you remember when you were a child? You used to play kids games and depending on where you were at and who you were playing with, you would eventually run into another kid or group of kids who played the same game but with different rules. An argument generally follows with both sides claiming ultimate knowledge to the right rules of the game. Somebody either gives in, and the rules change, or someone picks up their toys and goes home. But understand that there is a rule book somewhere for about every game. Those are the rules by which we are to play the game. Now transfer that thought process to life in general. Think back through your years of experience and consider how much the rules have changed. In my lifetime, the rules or the standards of life have changed dramatically. We say that we are becoming more enlightened, we understand things better than we used to. We are progressing in the human life experience, we are evolving. But wait, if there is a rule book for life, can we actually change the rules as we desire? How you answer this will significantly depend on how you answer the question of whether God is real. If God is real and is who the Bible says He is, then He makes the rules, and He ultimately enforces them. If there is no God and we are on our own, then yes, we can make the rules and even change them if it seems good.
Let me share a couple of verses with you that reflect on the topic. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 say the same thing. “There is a way that seems right unto man, but its end is the way of death." Things aren't always what they seem to be. It may look good and appear right, but there is so much that we don't see and understand.
A simple example is the weather forecast. We can kind of see it all, and we know what this pattern did last time, but there are so many possible variations that we can't get it entirely right. So it is with life, we see many parts and pieces, and we know what it did last time, but this time it's completely different, and it can end in disaster. The last verse of the book of Judges says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” There was no king yet in Israel. God wanted to be their leader and king, but they ultimately rejected Him. When God gave them a king, he was to be a standard-bearer. He inspired them to be faithful to God and follow His design. Then, as now, the people decided to do their own thing, thus making their own rules. If you are familiar with the book of Judges you know that there was a repeated occurrence of the people going their own way, then finding themselves in dire circumstances, turning back to God, and then God rescuing them. It teaches us many things but most of all that we need God's guidance within our lives to face not only the hard situations but even the day to day aspects of life. In other words, we have a rule book to help us stay on course and to throw it out the window will ultimately lead to catastrophe. We are not free to change the rules. God is our creator and designer, and He gives us the rule book. The biggest problem is that none of us can keep all the rules. That is why we need Jesus, who held the rules perfectly for us. We participate in this action of Jesus by faith in Him and what he did for us.
Pastor Lynn Rettig
Musselshell Community Bible Church
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