Relationship Rules

Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.

Psalm 119:24 (NLT)

“Do you know how fast you were going, son?” If you’ve heard this phrase before, then you understand immediately what happened. For those who have never heard this spoken, your foot is apparently not as heavy as mine. This is the typical phrase (Maybe minus the “son” part) used by police officers when they pull someone over for speeding. I was 16 years old the first time I heard this. I was going 50 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. Ouch! In my defense, the speed limit had been 50 MPH. The cop was sitting with his radar about 10 ft. past the sign that reduced the speed limit to 25 MPH. He nailed me as soon as I passed the sign. Apparently, the law does not allow drivers time to slow down once they’ve driven passed the speed limit sign. I wasn’t happy. My dad wasn’t happy either when I got home and had to admit what had happened.

Often times, we look at laws as a bad thing. In this case, I sure did. I wanted to make excuses (the sign wasn’t clearly visible, I didn’t have time to slow down, etc.) for why the law, or the application of the law, was unfair. At the point of my guilt, I argued that the law was to blame, not the fact that I was going twice the posted speed limit.

This is often how we approach God’s law. When sin trips us up, the law is stupid. When we mess up, God is somehow unfair. We’re missing the whole point of what laws are meant to do. Laws are meant to protect.

God’s law is perfect and good. It is meant to protect us. The law isn’t there to hammer us. The law simply exists to protect and grow our relationship with God and with one another. In fact, I believe in this concept so strongly that I’ve dubbed them God’s “Relationship Rules.” Why? Because God cares so deeply about our relationships that He shows us how to protect them, how to prevent hurting others, how to grow our associations, not destroy them.

Embrace that God asks us to do things that give us healthy, eternal relationships – both with Him and with others. Because of this, we should be praising God for His law, not cursing it.

Today, give thanks to God for giving us His amazing Relationship Rules.