Why does God give us rules?

If anyone knows me, they know that I am severely ADD. My attention span is almost comical at times. I mean I literally will be laying in bed when I'm at home, decide I want water from the fridge, walk downstairs, and legit stand in my kitchen and have to deeply think about why I walked downstairs. And maybe I'll remember the water but more than likely I grab something completely different, or just accept the defeat and walk back upstairs- usually to remember right when I lay back down that I needed water. 

I’ve accepted that it's basically a personality trait for me now- but when I was little my parents definitely tried hard to set me up for success. They were always trying to give me rules on how to remember where I put things- my mom would always say “make sure everything has its own home”. But I definitely forgot where those homes were most of the time… 

So with that all being said- my rules as a kid might look a little different than some. With the reality that I was just a kid who needed structure (maybe just a little more than others), there were rules put in place. 

For me there were “you have to double check before you leave somewhere that you have everything”, “you cannot leave things lying around”, “everything has to be put in its home before you leave the house”

At the time, I didn’t get it. Why in the world do I have to look at the table twice before I leave a restaurant? Or why does my mom keep referring to the drawer I keep my brush in as a “home”? 

But as I look back on those years I think about all of the things my parents saved me from. My young ADD self, without those “silly” rules, would have had a whole lot of phones left at restaurants, items left at friends' houses, assignments lost, and probably a lot more… 

Maybe your rules growing up weren't the same as mine. Probably not… But you more than likely did have a set of rules in place that at one point you didn’t get… On top of those rules I also had the basic “be home by this time”, “we have to know the parents before you spend the night there”, and “you have to finish your homework first” things too… 

My parents had the intention to set me up for success. They had a desire for me to live my life in a way that was structured to live to the fullest. But they knew that that required certain restrictions. Because why in the world would any parents let an immature, young, ADD child run around doing whatever she wanted? 

In Matthew 5, we read the words of Jesus as He gives what is called “The Sermon on the Mount”. 

In this sermon, Jesus gives instructions regarding several different things… These things include murder, anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, loving our enemies, giving to the needy, lusting, pridefulness, swearing, being a hypocrite, idolatry, fasting, materialism, worry, judging others, wrong instruction, teachers… 

I encourage you to go read through chapters 5-7. When you do, it might feel overwhelming- that’s a lot of instruction. A lot of rules… you might even feel like how you did as a kid when you had rules from your parents… confused- Maybe you can understand why He would say not to murder someone, but why does Jesus tell me I can’t get back at someone when they do me wrong? Or why can’t I look lustfully at that one guy at the gym? 

The answer is simple. Jesus wants you to have life to the fullest. 

He even says this in His word- John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” 

The biggest misconception in our generation is that the Bible's rules keep us from having fun and doing what we want to do… But the Bible tells us time and time again that living by “the flesh” or by what we want to do literally leads to our death. And why would a loving God let you live a life that is leading to your destruction? 

And I think that thousands of years ago when Jesus gave this sermon on the mount, people were thinking the same thing that so many are thinking today… But Jesus in His all-knowingness says this to those then, and today that was thinking that living by their own rules sounded better than His, in Matthew 7:24-27,

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Why would you want to build your life on something that you know is going to fail? 

The Bible doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of living a life according to your own rules- 

Romans 8:13 reads, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Galatians 5:19-21 reads, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. As I warned you before, I warn you that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” 

God doesn’t want to give you biblical rules to keep you from having fun. No, God wants to keep you from death! He wants to give you life!

We are promised that if we do not live by these rules, there will be punishment. But we are also promised so many good things when we chose to live according to the word of God, or “by the spirit” 

Galatians 5:22-23 reads, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.” 

When we obey the rules that Jesus talks about in the sermon on the mount, and all throughout His word, we will experience a life built on solid rock. That will not be shaken. We experience a life full of patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. We experience life to the FULLEST. 

But don’t read this and think that you're in trouble, or now counted out of this fullness of life because you have done these things that the Bible has clearly instructed us against. 

Because just as Jesus so clearly gave these rules, He also so freely gave His life. 

Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”, Ephesians 1:7 reads, “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”, 1 John 1:9 also says that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Yes, my parents had rules. And yes there were consequences when I didn’t obey these rules. Whether that has been just me forgetting where my stuff was from not double checking before I left somewhere, or getting my phone taken away because I was 30 minutes past curfew… But at the end of my consequence, there was grace. There was love. My parents didn’t kick me out of the house and shunned me. No, they loved me despite my disobedience and loved me regardless of my wrongdoings. 

How much more are you loved and forgiven by a Heavenly Father who laid His life down for you and your disobedience?

If you have been living for your flesh- you're already living with the consequence. Life is not sweet when you are not living for Jesus. You are trapped. A slave to sin. But by living by the word of God you are simply set free and welcomed into this fullness of life that He so deeply desires for you.