Mathew 5:36-37
…36 Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’and your ‘No,’‘No.’Anything more comes from the evil one.
In life, there is an abundance of swaying, rule-breaking and condemnation. So many of us have ventured far away from the days of old, where being a law abiding citizen was an upstanding thing. Even still, Jesus calls us to not only obey his commandments, but also to be sincere in our decision making; "Letting our yes be yes, and our no be no," (Mathew 5:36-37, The Bible). Being sincere isn't easy, and often times our hearts fill us with doubts that lead to double mindedness. This can lead to poor judgement, and what many consider being a "luke-warm christian, referring to Revelation chapter 3:15-17
…15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! 16 So because you are luke warm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.…
This leads me to a very serious topic that most of us overlook in our day to day decision making process;
THE RULES FOR RULE-BREAKING
When we set boundaries, or laws to govern our thoughts action and behaviors, and yet justify not following the precepts set in place at specific times, or certain instances, this is considered the rules for rule-breaking
For example. A certain husband decides to set a boundary for his wife and children to follow. He states,
"From here on out, there will be no more eating in the car".
And so they drive on. Later, while driving, the wife decides that they have been driving long enough and that it is time to stop and get something to eat. They stop at a gas station to get sandwiches. It suddenly begins to rain and storm outside, and they are unable to eat outside. They are ten minutes away from home. The wife decides in this case, it is okay to break the boundary the husband has set due to inclement weather. The husband, however, disagrees and wishes to drive ten minutes back home to fulfill the boundary and law that he has set in place to not eat in the car...
Have you and your spouse, or significant other, or children, or parents ever experienced a similar argument, or situation? This is considered rules for rule breaking. In this case, it would be the justification of no eating in the car, except during inclement weather. While this seems minor in perspective of this topic, it becomes a big problem in our walk with Jesus, when we justify committing sins like fornication (The bible says to wait until I am married to have sex, but if Ive been with my boyfriend for over a year, its ok) ADULTERY (The bible says not to cheat on my wife, but she cheated on me 2 years ago which in this case makes me not guilty if I cheat on her), STEALING (I should not steal, but only from corporations because they rob the poor... Robin hood baby!!!) and countless amounts of other things we do on a daily basis to justify bending God's law, word for word.
Jesus said...let your yes be your yes and your no be your no. He has already set the foundation of boundaries for us in his word- the Bible, and his laws; the ten commandments, and his new covenant, Mathew chapter 5- The Sermon on the Mount.
Think of a time where you created rules for breaking a specific rule Jesus has set in place. What made you justify breaking that specific law? Write your response in the comments below.
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