IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES, YOU'VE GOT IT MADE, RIGHT?

July 25, 2017

IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES, YOU'VE GOT IT MADE, RIGHT?

Psalm 119:161–168

Emily Allen

Central Truth

God gives us commandments to follow because He knows what is best for us. Don't let focusing on the rules make you forget what is most important: loving God and loving others.

I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
and I do your commandments.
(Psalm 119:166)

Sin and Shin

161 Princes persecute me without cause,
    but my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I rejoice at your word
    like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
    but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
    for your righteous rules.
165 Great peace have those who love your law;
    nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for your salvation, O LORD,
    and I do your commandments.
167 My soul keeps your testimonies;
    I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep your precepts and testimonies,
    for all my ways are before you.

When you decide you want try a new dish that you have never cooked before, what is the first thing you do? If you are anything like me, you spend hours looking through cookbooks and websites to find the perfect recipe. Then you spend time making sure you have all the necessary ingredients and tools to make the dish just right. And when you finally start cooking, if you forget a step along the way, you immediately go back to the recipe to make sure you get it just right. But what happens when you can’t find the recipe at the moment you need it? Do you keep cooking, or do you throw what you have started in the trash and give up?

God wants us to follow the commandments He set out before us. He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses for the Israelites because He knew what was best for them.

Well, as an abiding rule-follower, I love the Ten Commandments. I know that God gives “great peace [to] those who love [His] law” (Psalm 119:165). But what happens in situations the Ten Commandments don’t address? I believe in those times, God gives me two choices. I can do nothing, and claim I didn’t know what to do, or I can pray and allow God’s Word to guide my actions.

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to "'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." When you don’t know what to do, don’t let your love of the rules or your desire for perfection paralyze you. Keep on loving God and loving others, and He will lead you in the right direction.

1. Are you more worried about following the rules than following God?

2. Do you ever worry that others will judge you if you make a mistake?

3. Are there situations in your life that are not specifically addressed in the Bible, and you don’t know what God wants you to do? Are you paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong decision?

4. Spend time this week praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit and trust that as long as you love God and others above yourself or the rules, He will lead you in the right direction.