Legislating Love
Rules. Rules are such a paradox for the human race. We need rules. Instinctively we know that because without rules, how would we know what is acceptable and what isn’t? However, we hate rules. We hate the burden of rules, learning the rules, keeping the rules. It’s as if the rules rub against our spirit chaffing us in all the wrong places.
Yet, we continue to make them.
Most of the time it is one group making the rules for another group, rather than for themselves. Although I admit to making quite a few rules for myself in my time. (I will not stay up past nine o’clock. I will take a shower before I go to bed every single night. I will eat only salad.) Of course they never work. I can never make enough rules to keep me permanently healthy, wealthy, or wise.
In the Old Testament there are many examples of God establishing rules. The design of the arc of the covenant was laid out in such detail that it is remarkable the people could ever get one built “right enough.” The most famous set of rules in the Old Testament is, of course, the Ten Commandments.
But a question to ask is, Why did God give the people the Ten Commandments? He gave them because the people asked Him for a set of rules. “Tell us what we need to do to satisfy Your perfect justice, and we will do it.”
Of course that didn’t even last Moses’ trip down the mountain. He smashed the first set of stone tablets because the people had already broken the first commandment by making and worshipping a golden calf. Face it. We’re not very good at keeping rules. But that doesn’t keep us from making them.
Recently our parish has instituted a policy requiring every second grader who wants to receive Reconciliation, Communion, and Confirmation must study and memorize questions and answers in a textbook. They are then to go before someone who will determine if they are ready to receive these sacraments.
At the risk of getting bopped over the head. This is silly.
Think about it. Did Jesus require His disciples to pass a test about the Kingdom of God before the Last Supper? Obviously not considering two of them were arguing about who would be first in this kingdom, one was to become His betrayer, and another would insist he’d never even heard the name Jesus only hours later. Failure was almost built into the proposition.
The fact is, you cannot legislate love. Rules can never bring you into relationship with someone. It just doesn’t work that way, and God knows it. In the garden there was one rule. “Don’t eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” And we did a great job with that one.
Can you imagine someone saying, “This is the person you are to marry. I know that you don’t know him/her, but you are now required to love this person with all your heart and soul from this moment on.” Now if you’re a rule-oriented person, you might try very hard to love this person. But the true fact of the matter is, you don’t. You wouldn’t. You can’t. Until you get to know them and your heart makes its own decision, love is simply not possible.
The truth is, we don’t need more rules. We need to inspire more love. We do this by loving others ourselves. Extravagant love begets extravagant love. You cannot force a meaningful relationship with anyone much less God. That relationship must have a starting point and grow from there. And who are we to look at a child and say, “You may not start that relationship because you don’t know enough.”
It just doesn’t work that way because the simple fact is you cannot legislate love. However, work to inspire love, and who knows how much love might start showing up.
Staci’s giving away a free e-book! Come over to http://www.spiritlightbooks.com to find out how to get your copy of “Deep in the Heart.”
