Ron Writes
As a child, I had a lot of rules. There were certain things I had to do. I had to be told when to go to bed. I had chores. I had to do dishes, weed gardens, and go to school. My parents were mean - don’t get me started. I had to wash my hands before I ate. I had to go to church and while there I had better behave! You might realize that I wasn’t always a big fan of all these rules. I did just the minimum, just enough not to get in trouble. I didn’t keep these rules because I wanted to, but out of fear of punishment.
As I got older, my parents began to trust me more and there were fewer rules. A strange thing happened. Even as my parents had fewer rules, I continued to keep them. As an adult there is absolutely no fear of punishment, but I continue to do what they told me. Not out of fear, but out of honor. Honor is something we don’t always talk about much anymore, but we should. Children need rules, but adults need honor. As Christians we must move from rules to principles. From fear to grace. Rules and punishment don’t motivate us anymore, but honoring God does. The Law (rules) was once our schoolmaster (Gal. 3:23-25; 4:1-3). It controlled us and led us to faith in Christ.
The effect of immaturity is a lack of control. Rules are needed to restrict and limit us until we mature and develop self-control. Too many Christians are still trying to be good out of fear of punishment. “There is no fear in love” (1 Jn. 4:18). “The one who fears is not perfected in love.” My parents never gave me rules because they didn’t love me. No, it was quite the opposite. They didn’t want me to fear them, but recognize their love for me. And so with God. Walking according to God’s will allows me to prove to myself and to others that God’s will is that “which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). Honor, value and respect for God now motivate me.
Paul said, “when I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11).
