RULES TO LIVE BY

Did you have rules to follow when you were a kid?

One of the rules I remember is to be home before the streetlights came on. Another rule was always tell mother where we were going. There were many more rules, but I never saw them as cruel or unusual punishment, they were simply rules to live by.  Every kid in the neighborhood had rules, they weren’t all the same, but we all had them.  Why?  Because our parents loved us so much they never wanted anything to happen to us. So they gave us guide lines for us to live within, to make our lives healthy and safe.

What kind of rules did you have growing up?  What happened when you broke the rules?  We were taught there was a consequence for our actions. If we broke the rules we were punished, depending on the infraction of which rule, the justice was metered out. The beauty of this was we knew exactly what to expect when we willingly broke the rules. You see, nobody made us break the rules, it was a conscious decision made by each one of us.  We may have thought at the time, we may get away without anyone knowing, but at the same time knew what would happen if they did.

It is reassuring to know we have a heavenly father who loves us even more than our parents do. He gave us a set of rules to live by he calls the law, or the Ten Commandments. Why? Because in this evil world we need rules to keep us safe and healthy. So we can live long and happy lives like he wants us to.

As parents we need to teach our children that in life there are rules to follow.  In the home, in school and in public, the rules are there to keep them safe and healthy. Like don’t cross the street if the light is red. But teach them also there is a rule about life and death. For eternal life they must follow the rule and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. They don’t have to, but they must suffer the consequence of their action if they don’t.

We as writers have rules of writing.  The outline of our story is our guideline to ensure the end will be what we were aiming for.  What are your guide lines in your life, and what are the consequences if they are not followed?

 

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.

I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.

Psalms 119:97-102

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Proverbs 3:1-2

Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Proverbs 7:2