What Do Rules Have To Do With Respect And Humility?

In our lives here in this world, we're given the choice to follow God's commandments, or not. As we raise our kids, they are given rules, and they can follow them or not. No matter what our choice is, respect and humility will come into play.

Know therefore that the Lord thy God He is God, the faithful God which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations." Deut. 7:9

Rules Put In Place

From how I see it, rules have been in place from the beginning of creation. First of all, Adam and Eve were placed in the garden and were commanded to tend and keep it. They were given the one commandment of not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then the Israelites, after they were taken out of the land of Egypt, were given the Ten Commandments to follow. There were also laws (judgements) put into place regarding servants, violence, animal control, property, and moral and ceremonial principles. In the country we live we have the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and laws that are established. In individual homes we see set rules or guidelines to follow. Our workplaces and schools have rules and policies to follow. We do have freedom that gives the ability to make choices and depending on how we choose to follow the guidelines we're given, will determine the quality of life we live.

Possible Consequences

Without going into specific consequences of particular rules being broken, let's just review a general possibility for each category spoken of above. If we choose not to abide by our work place policies, general practice is to get a formal reprimand that is documented up to so many times before leading to termination. When a student doesn't follow the rules at school, there is anything from moving a clip down on the class behavior chart, missing recess, to being sent to the office and having parents called, an in school or out of school suspension, even being expelled. In homes when a child chooses to disobey, they could get reprimanded, grounded, privileges taken away, given extra chores, or even spanked. In the states that we live, if we are caught breaking a law we stand the chance of being issued a ticket, we could be arrested and taken to court, specific licenses could be voided, there could be a heavy fine or we could even be sent to prison. Regarding the law that God commands of us, if we choose to disobey, we risk separation from Him and damnation.

"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." 1 John 5:19 NKJV

Our Ugliness

If you think about it, when we do something that we shouldn't, it is usually because we want it to benefit us in some way. We are born into this world with a selfish and prideful nature, which is sin. As it says in Psalm 51:5 (ESV) "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." As we raise children from infancy, we can see this sinful nature bare its ugliness. We can even see early on how children can use their words to manipulate to get their way. And to be honest, we see this in adults. I am not proud to say that, in the past, I've done it in relationships with those I have been close to. Again, this goes back to selfishness. Romans 16:18 says "For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive hearts of the simple." Take a look at arguments, rooted somewhere in the reason for the argument is selfishness, manipulation or pride. Even when it goes into the bigger things where the law is broken, it is stemmed from this evil nature. This nature took place in us when the fall of man happened when Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The world continues to feed this selfish beast. We are told to be more, do more, get more. Be your best self. Love yourself. We make this our goal and measure our success by these worldly values. Our kids see this and think they are entitled to more ,and then, some more. As we take a stand and say "no", that is where we can see the practice of respect and humility come into play. Kids will have the choice of respecting the decision and showing a good attitude. They can show humility by seeing that the decision is in their best interest for that time, even if they don't agree. Respect is also shown to the parent and they have humbled themselves by accepting the decision. I think it is very important to teach our kids from the verse in 1 Peter 5:5-6 which says, "Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

Holy Spirit Change Us

Adults also run into similar situations in relationships, at work, places we visit and even when we are driving.Can you imagine how much better an example we could be for our kids and those around us if we were to practice living according to Philippians 2:3-4 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others." Wow! My goal is to keep this verse in front of me so that I can keep my thoughts and actions on a spiritual level and not in the flesh. As a Christian, we are called to be separated from the world. Romans12:2 says,"And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This is an ongoing refining process that the Holy Spirit works in us. "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement." John 16:7-8. Again, we need to respect and honor our Lord and humble ourselves to what He calls us to. We need to listen and obey.

"God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." Romans 2:6-8