Rules are standards of conduct that are externally imposed through societal laws, dictated by social codes, determined as ethical norms, or even established as physical disciplines. Other rules are internal…set by our inner compass and filtered through our belief system, experiences, and/or personal preferences.
Rules are good. They are boundaries put in place as a means of protection; designed for the well-being of every individual. They are an important part of our lives and are meant to be followed… in most cases.
Some rules, on the other hand, are meant to be broken. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about becoming a rebel without a cause. This is not a warrant to implement irresponsible actions or behaviors in order to deliberately disobey rules for no reason at all. No, that’s not what I’m referring to.
What I’m talking about is logically analyzing rules, especially the internal rules that we endeavor to live by. Do they really make sense? Are they truly helpful? Do they line up with God’s Word? If so, great! Keep following them if there’s no reason for a change.
Some rules though, need to be re-evaluated. If they are based on past experiences, pain, the mistakes of others, or fear…we need to be open to reconsidering them. If not, we could limit God’s plan for our lives. For example, someone who went through a bad divorce or experienced the loss of their spouse could potentially create a “rule” stating that they would NEVER fall in love again.
Another person, who experienced abuse in a relationship may make a “rule” that they would NEVER allow anyone intimate access into their life again. Someone else, who may have suffered financial loss from a bad business deal may decide to live by the “rule” of NEVER venturing out again. These “rules” make us think that we’re “playing it safe”…but in actuality, they could prevent us from achieving our purpose.
Do you see how these “rules”, made in efforts to avoid a potentially unpleasant outcome, could actually be detrimental to us?
We can even make rules based on our own personal preferences. ”I will NEVER live in THAT city”, ”I could NEVER marry someone with THAT personality”, ”I would NEVER take THAT job”…
These “NEVER” statements become inner “rules” that we live by. The moment that we allow God to touch our hearts, is the moment in which God can open our eyes. We then see that it’s okay to break the illogical precepts that we ourselves have implemented.
We realize that maybe we need to put some of these aside. This brings us to the moment in which our world turns upside-down. We are confronted with the reality that God’s “best” dismantles and shatters the very “rules” that we established in a vain attempt to protect ourselves. Now, we are faced with a decision… to limit God or to break some “rules” that were actually intended to be broken.
