Playing By The Rules Can Actually Be Fun! … Hello Hump Day readers. The past few weeks have been crazy at the lake. Since July 4th was on a Thursday, it was really the entire week of holiday fun for many people. We were packed every day and grateful for our overflow area which filled up almost every night. What a joy to see campers and their families enjoying camping and recreation on the lake…but, and here is that word again, ‘but why do some people think our rules are not for them’?

For instance, cliff jumping. It is banned here but they do it anyway. We have broken backs, shoulders, wrists, ankles, toes and sadly some wind up in a wheel-chair for life and yes, we do have people die. We have all the warning but…the feedback is “we’re just having fun, what is your problem?” Well, if you die or you are going to live in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, now you have a problem that is not fixable!

Then we have the nudists. We had day-use shelters with families celebrating and a nudity group came in and all they had on were flip-flops and a towel!  Kids in the shelters were wide-eyed and parents were wondering what was going on. My phone rang several times and I called rangers who called for the Sheriff’s paddy-wagons and out they went with fines for indecent exposure, cliff-jumping and drunkenness. As they loaded into the paddy-wagon one gal said to our ranger, “you guys just won’t let us have any fun, you’re a bunch of stick-in-the-muds.” And one more: speeding & speed bumps. Both young and old, got speeding tickets in a campground which posts 10 MPH! And those speed bumps? One broke the axle on their trailer flying up the hill to leave; and 3 small cars thought it would be fun to go fast around the speed bumps. The results? One tipped over and damaged the car plus cuts and bruises with the kids inside. Honestly, in just this one holiday week I could write a novel on stupidity. Just what is good about not playing by the rules? A lot, you could be dead!

This week of ruler-breakers reminded me that we’ve got this weird double standard with rules. As a friend of mine would say: “they’re cool if they suit us but a nuisance when they don’t.” It’s true that we are all guilty of this ‘dance with rules’ and many of us have had almost death experiences by flouting the rules. We also have those who follow the rules and then those who brush them off like they’re no big deal—until the deal breaks apart.

Another problem is our selfishness for convenience! So, the rules that cause inconvenience shouldn’t apply to us, right? Some say those rules make no sense and the rules are just like a sack of rocks on our back taking away all our fun. (I use this from a young kid who almost died cliff jumping. He learned a tough lesson but said he would do it again-what?!!)

Here’s the problem about our idea for the rules “we want and the ones we don’t like” and that is: God doesn’t stand for our fickleness with His rules. When it comes to God’s law, God has only one simple expectation: Keep the rules because your obedience will be fueled by my delight. Makes sense doesn’t it. We break God’s rules we lose the precious delight of our God and we can lose a lot for ourselves as well. And let’s not forget that when we break rules it can mean to others around us or our children that breaking rules is OK. When we break rules we hurt ourselves and others and we don’t represent a person of faith.

King David wrote in Psalm 1:1-2 The Message: “How well God must like you—you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats, you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings, you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls. Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.”

If we believe God is good and all that God does is good, then we can delight in the reality that God’s laws are good for us and they reflect God’s standard of holiness so we can do our best to keep away from the sin that so easily binds us. If that is hard for you, take the time to talk with God in prayer. Read God’s word that will help you grow in intimacy with God. After all, the better we know God and the love that God has for us, we will find great JOY and even some wonderful fun when we play by God’s rules! AMEN.