“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching…” (Proverbs 1:8)

After a late-winter snowfall one March, I became very aware of the rules of living in small town America. Being very conscious of an article I had seen published in the local newspaper, I knew that it was a requirement that sidewalks must be shoveled within twenty-four hours following a snowfall.  That one made sense to me. I had also heard that when removing snow from the walks, you were supposed to throw it on your property instead of the street. I guess I could understand that one also, since it would only make additional work for someone else or could create a slippery area on an already-treated road.  Then, I thought – “Gee I wonder if there’s a rule that the snowplows cannot throw snow onto my sidewalk? ‘There oughta be a law’ about that one,” I mumbled to myself.  I laughed as I recalled that had been the name of an old cartoon strip years ago.

Rules…rules…rules. Some say they are only made for breaking. Not so, if you want to be a member of St Anthony’s in New Jersey where Bob Hurley has been coaching for over fifty years. His presence has been a Godsend to hundreds of inner city kids. Now a thousand victories and several dozen state championships later, how does Hurley explain their success?  Rules!  Each player (and their parents) are expected to sign a ‘Student/Athlete Contract’ which contains a list of twenty expectations the team members must do to succeed.  The list includes maintaining a clean-cut appearance (no facial hair, tattoos, or mohawks), refraining from all forms of substance abuse (alcohol, drug and tobacco use), as well as no cell phone use while in school. The coach says. “So at the end of four years, we’ve taken you to a place where you can go to college.”  They must be doing something right, because the entire student body has had 100% college acceptance for twenty-five years.

Since the creation of mankind, God gave us a choice to follow His rules or to break them. In the beginning, it was simple. “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die’ ” (Genesis 2:16-17).  That one didn’t work out so well. In the Old Testament, one discovers that God handed down many rules – some of which man obeyed, and many died in disobedience of others. Not only did God speak through Moses in the provision of The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-21), He also provided this direction: “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord. When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the LORD instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do. The tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God” (Numbers 15:38-40).

Throughout the many centuries, civilizations have established rules for their citizens to follow for the creation of societal living. Jesus found Himself in the middle of such a society where the teachers of the law were often more concerned about the ritualistic details than they were about the heart of its instruction. They frequently planted spies in Jesus’ public gatherings asking questions where He might improperly speak against the government authorities.  In one case, He was quite aware of their attempt and simply responded with the line, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God” (Luke 20:25). Once, one of the Pharisees, an expert in religious law, tried to trick Jesus by asking: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:35-40). Herein are the most important rules for each of us now and always.  Whether we find ourselves on the basketball court or shoveling snow on the sidewalks of our hometown, they guarantee we will have a winning season.

REFLECTION: Are you more in conflict with breaking the rules of man or God? What are some ways you can better practice His greatest commandments? What personal rules might you put in place to do so?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., MARCH 25, 2017.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.