KEEPING THE RULES

Feel free to take the poll at left. Only two days remain.

I have always been a rule-keeper. From the earliest days, I was the good little kid on the block - you know him -- that compliant, obedient boy who did everything his elders told him to do without questioning -- which turned into an obedient teenager who did pretty much everything his parents and teachers said to do -- which turned into an adult who obeyed all the laws and rules of society -- which turned into an adult famous for making rules for everyone else.

Over the years, that meant keeping all the rules my religion set up for me - which included, but not restricted to:

No smoking
No drinking
No card playing
No mixed swimming
No swearing
No playing pool
No going to movies
No dancing
No wearing make-up or short skirts (OK well - that one was easy)
No associating with anyone who does any of the above

But at some point I came to realize that trying to be 'good' - or maybe trying to avoid being 'bad' was what some of that was about. I don't know who actually made those rules, but I discovered that the people one and two generations above me didn't know where they originated either. They had just 'always been.' Hmmm.

My success at KEEPING the rules - and/or my success at not BREAKING the rules - defined my 'goodness.' It defined my devotion to God. And as one person said, 'Goodness and badness are what matter MOST in this kind of "religion," so they must be what matter most to God.'

But God is not just a rule-setter and commandment-maker. What is personal or intimate about that? That's not what I want to be as a PARENT either. God doesn't prefer lecturing us above having conversation with us. And I don't want to relate to my kids from a distance. Who prefers fear over love?

So I've re-thought that whole original "DO NOT" list thing. Sorry, mom. Since that time, I guess I've broken at least half of them (I'm going to let you figure out which 'half').

And be blessed.