If you're like me, you can struggle with rules.
Generally, I don’t enjoy being told what to do or to feel like my freedom is being infringed upon. This got me in plenty of trouble at my Catholic high school where my pride raged against our strict uniform policies. Despite being a good kid, I regularly could be found talking myself out of disciplinary action for having my shirt untucked or wearing the wrong socks.
These seemingly silly and arbitrary rules drove my adolescent self crazy. And this disposition of mine also explains why I’ve not always understood the ten commandments.
The rules of God
Most people—Christian or not—know about the 10 commandments.
Given to Israel by God after freeing them from Egyptian slavery, these 10 rules remain a cornerstone of biblical teaching. In them God demands strict fidelity with directions to set apart an entire day each week for His worship and to rest from labor. God also instructs this little clan to not steal, not commit adultery, not be jealous or bear false witness among other directives.
But, why, I’ve always wondered. Why does God give such directives?
The path to flourishing
The reason for the ten commandments is simple.
Far from being arbitrary or hindrances to our freedom and flourishing, God’s rules are actually the path to the freedom and flourishing we long for. It’s within these commands can we can actually thrive and come together.
Consider your favorite sport.
Whether playing football or golf or basketball or softball, if there aren’t ground rules in place no one will be free to play and enjoy the game. Without the guardrails of what’s in or out, acceptable or unacceptable, permitted or not, we can’t come together to play.
The rules are the means of flourishing not an obstacle to it.
God’s playbook
God’s purposes for Israel were far greater than freeing them from Egypt.
He didn’t want them to simply live, he wanted them to live freely and fully as humans, to model for the world how we were created to live. To lead away from the dehumanizing ways of Egypt and to flourishing in Him.
This is the reason for the 10 commandments.
By following them we find ourselves on the path to life. We find ourselves turning in love toward God and neighbor. We find ourselves living as we were meant to.
In the words of biblical scholar Dr. Brant Pitre,
“far from being just a set of rules, the Ten Commandments are a spiritual path that leads to love rather than hatred, life rather than death.”
And just as the Israel of Scripture was saved from Egypt and then given this path so we are too. Jesus Christ has freely saved us, bringing us from death to life in Him. Now, by the Holy Spirit within us, we too can keep his commands and find our flourishing along the way.
It turns out the 10 commandments aren’t so much arbitrary rules to be annoyed with but a playbook to flourish in life.