“Rules, rules, rules, that’s all they have at school is rules.” Thus, my nephew lamented after his
first day of kindergarten. He found he needed permission to do things that he could do at home.
He needed permission to go and play, and permission to talk to people. Now, my nephew was
not a spoiled child; he was and is (he is an adult now) very respectful and such, but the new
school environment was quite challenging.
And I know that there are folks who think that rules are really not necessary. In fact, we often
see rules as restricting and controlling. But the fact of the matter is this: We need rules so that
we can live with one another. The Ten Commandments were given to us not to restrict us, but to
allow us to live with one another.
In all reality, there are only two commandments we need to adhere to: “Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ... Love your neighbor as
yourself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).
The most important rules we can live by literally have nothing to do with us; they have to do with
others. God is supposed to be loved above all else. The kicker is, if we say we love God but
don’t love our neighbor, we end up being liars (1 John 4:20). You cannot love God without loving
your neighbor, and you show your love for God by loving your neighbor. Sounds simple, doesn’t
it?
