Jewels Of Rules Series

It is a rare person who does not like benefits. The working we do, the toiling we face, and the utter anguish we endure are all resolved when benefits follow closely behind. You may know that ‘benefits‘ is generally described as, “something that is advantageous or good.” Sometimes, even having an advantage can be considered a benefit, as in; a race, or a salary, or even good health. These rewards are even the core motivator for many people. “Get’n something out of it” is the mantra for many, many people. “What’s in it for me?” or even “I don’t work for noth’n” are phrases we hear all too often.

Frankly though, it is God’s fault! How is that for a twist?

Way back in the Garden of Eden when God was giving Adam ‘the lay of the land’ as it were, He told him, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17)

One of the first benefits we obtained was life itself. But, even better… the promise of never dying, actually… as long as we followed one simple rule. See… God set into motion man’s Free-Will choice for life or death… for right or wrong… even for advantage or disadvantage in life.

We are actually admonished and reminded to always consider God’s benefits in our lives. Psalms 103:2 (KJV) tells us, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Keeping ourselves aware of the benefits of God’s presence in our lives is a great motivator… a wonderful checks-n-balances way of setting the tone for your outlook on tomorrow.

Remember too though, sin and disobedience have benefits… there are ‘fruits’ for any and all actions in our lives; good or bad. Sure… they are not instantaneous or as prompt as a ‘pay out’ on a vending or gambling machine… all too often, they take a lifetime to begin to show in our lives. So, if you are looking for instant gratification of God’s benefits, please adjust your heart… adjust your expectations… and learn to wait on Him for His blessings.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 (KJV)

So… remaining in God’s will… remaining in His presence and He in your heart… these are the mechanisms for obtaining His benefits… His blessings… His guard over our lives. Easier said than done, I know…. we are wanderers.. we are in a world that is so driven by ‘get results now, if not sooner’. Remember back when the Microwave oven was introduced to society… we were so thrilled that we could heat something up within 2-3 minutes. Today… we impatiently wait for the thing to finally get it done! If websites don’t load on our phone within 3-7 seconds, we click over to another one.

Gravity and Football

While rules get a bad rap, they do actually have many benefits… many blessings for our lives. Many of which we have enjoyed for so long that we take them for granted. Many of them have been part of this world way longer than we have been on the earth. Take Gravity for example. Sure, I rarely give gravity a second thought as I go through my days… my weeks… my months and years. But, there it is… following the one rule it was given; pull things toward the earth.

Think about gravity for a quick minute. As far as we know, it has always been present on earth. It is holding (pulling) everything toward the earth’s surface. Again… we don’t give it a second thought, but look around you… notice all the tables-n-chairs… the automobiles… even the houses and buildings. Almost none of them are actually anchored to the ground. We have accepted that the Gravity will always be ‘on’, so we don’t need to anchor them down. They are heavy enough to not float away. Gravity is following a rule, and we are benefiting from it… we are actually taking for granted that it will always work. Pure calamity will ensue if gravity ever fails… if gravity had a will of it’s own and ‘forgot’ to stay on… if gravity went to sleep and neglected to set the ‘autopilot’ control to ensure everything was still getting pulled to the earth.

“Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.“ Psalms 74:17 (KJV)

So, God set the borders, the rules, the guidelines for the earth to ‘perform’ and operate. We benefit from this consistent foundation… we benefit from a system God established. Another system that has benefits due to the established rules is a Football field… or most any sport, actually. There are plenty of rules in the game of Football. They help establish fairness, consistency, and most certainly help resolve conflict (a player steps out of bounds while carrying the ball). Man invented this game and many others. The rules, the borders, the guidelines were all established and have even been modified over the years. But, we benefit from these rules even though there are many times when we may not agree with the rule… we may challenge the rules… we may even completely dismiss the rule as useless or senseless. Nonetheless, rules do have their benefits.