Three Simple Rules
A Wesleyan Way of Living
Based on the book of the same name by Ruben P. Job
Rules. The world, our culture, our families… all have rules. Without rules, our world would be in anarchy, chaos. Some rules are called laws. We have civil laws and criminal laws. Break a civil law and it can cost you a lot of money or other material wealth. Break a criminal law, and you could find yourself in jail.
On the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Trooper sees a car puttering along at 22 m.p.h. He thinks to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.
Approaching the car, he notices that there are five old ladies -- two in the front seat and three in the back, wide eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don’t understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"
"Ma’am," the officer replies, "you weren’t speeding, but you should know that driving much slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."
"Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit, exactly twenty-two miles an hour!" the old woman says a bit proudly.
The State Trooper, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that 22 was the route number, not the speed limit.
A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.
"But before I let you go, Ma’am, I have to ask... Is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven’t muttered a single peep this whole time," the officer asks.
"Oh, they’ll be all right in a minute, officer. We just got off Route 119.
-MOVE-
But when we break all the rules down to the essential, at least from a spiritual, to be more specific, a Methodist point if theological view, we can look to the founder of the Methodist church.
There are three simple rules that have the power to change the world. These rules have been around since ancient times, yet, rarely have they been fully tested. However, when and where practiced, the world of things as they were was shaken. Shaken until a new formation, a new world came to be... The Wesleyan movement is a prime example of this new creation, formed when these three simple rules were and can be today, adopted as a way of living.
We live in a crazy world. Fast –paced and complex and how easy we can buy into the belief that we’re trapped into being someone we do not want to be… and not living the life we desire. Don’t we truly long for a way, an answer to cut through all the junk and complexities and turbulence of our world today? If we were entirely honest, wouldn’t it be great to be a part of the solution not the problem? To find a way to overcome the stuff that causes disagreement and/or hostility, the kind of stuff that separates, sometimes makes fun of us, disrespects, diminishes and leaves us wounded and feeling incomplete.
Sometimes, things are going great. Then we seem to forget to give credit to our God and share the good times with Him. We tend to believe we are totally and completely responsible for things going well. Who needs God when things are going great?
Then, when things don’t go so great, we may fall into the trap of wondering if there is a way out of whatever the mess is we find ourselves in… or the life we are living. And once again… often until we’ve fallen to the very bottom of the pit, do we forget to call on the One who created us.
Some here may have already walked down that path. Some may be on it yet today. Chances are we know someone who is desperately trying to figure out how to turn things around. Someone who realizes that only a radical change can move them out of the rut of their situation. And somewhere they know deep in their heart this radical change is possible, because they know… they know the devastating cost of continuing down the path they are traveling. Finally, they, perhaps like most of us, understand the risks are too high to continue down the same path… the results of that road too costly.
But where to turn…
It is then we turn to the One who created us, formed us, and loves us as we are… and yet… always seeks to lead us to become more that what we are.
When asked which commandment was the most important, Jesus responded… “you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”…There is not other commandment greater than these.”
In these words, we find the foundation and instruction for the faithful and good life in every age. It is both a simple and profound statement….and when you think about it…would you agree with me … those words also describe the very foundation of what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus?
The words sound easy, and surely, we understand them without difficulty… yet…. The actions they command are indeed challenging! And too, that commandment remains a guide to the highest form of faithfulness and continues today, to hold the promise of a way of life both rewarding and fruitful in furthering God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven… do those words sound familiar?
So now, we turn to our roots and seek what it was in the past that enables persons….like us… to live courageously and faithfully in their time. What was it that drew them and bound them to God and God’s presence and power? What was it that bound them together in a common goal that challenged and transformed them into a holy and righteous movement? They needed and obviously found some instrument that, when used, brought them to a place of transformation.
What about us? Have we reached a place where as a church, as a people of faith we are ready to give serious consideration to another way, a more faithful way of living as disciples of Jesus Christ. This way of life, this “method” must be so clear it can be taught, shared and practiced by young and old, rich and poor, powerful and weak, and those of every theological persuasion. Sounds like a huge task doesn’t it? But we already have in our hands the blueprint for this way of living. And… with God’s help AND OUR WILLINGNESS, it can change our world!
This way of living was given to John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, in a time much like our own today. John Wesley took this blueprint, put it into simple terms, three simple rules, taught it, and practiced it. And now it has been passed on to us. Now… it is up to us to see if we will take it, teach it, and practice it until it becomes our natural way of living… a way of living that will mark our life together and our lives as individual Christians. Some already practice this way of living, and I believe many more are ready to try it. The task will sound easy. But the challenge, the challenge to truly follow these three rules is difficult indeed.
Here are the three simple rules. 1 – Do No Harm.
2 – Do Good
3 – Stay In Love With God.
Most of us here probably never imagined we would be living in a such a divided world. Many of you who lived through WWII were most likely convinced or at least very hopeful that our world could come together in harmony, peace, and plenty. The sacrifices were so enormous we could hardly imagine we would ever again permit our world to become so divided.
But, here we are… in a world where divisions are growing deeper almost every day. Perhaps our hopes and expectations were naïve… that we would simply get better as we became educated and shared more of the world’s riches. It looked like a natural and easy path to follow.
Perhaps forgetting the struggles and sacrifices of the past may have led to a complacency that took community too lightly, individualism too seriously, and neglected our call to faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, the world of peace and plenty for all has not happened. Nations are more and more hostile toward one another; we see division in our own communities around issues of education, development, and the status quo.
And religion? Can we not see much division within religion? Isn’t it true that each religion claims to have a firm grip on the truth? Even within denominations and congregations there is division over doctrine and what constitutes faithful discipleship and mortal sin.
In today’s world, we see families divided by competing agendas, rival priorities and the every day pressure to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive culture.
Is it any wonder then, that those who seek to follow Jesus must be asking … is the way Christians are to live?
So the question for us this morning is: Are we really measuring up to our calling as children of God” Is there a better way for us to practice our faith? A way so simple and yet substantial that none are turned away and all are able to practice as together we pursue our quest for faithful living. Are we the living answer to the prayer of Jesus… “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
Do we look at one another and see movement toward or oneness in Christ? Do other look at us and see God at work in our life together? Is our way of living life giving rather than life draining? Is our way of living one that will enhance the quality of life of each of us for as long as we live?
I sincerely believe those of us who claim Jesus Christ as our Savior, as Christians … do believe the possibility such a way of living exists and is open to all! In our better, our innermost honest moments, we know we haven’t live up to that shared belief of living the good and faithful life… with Jesus Christ at the very center of all we do and all we are. Deep within, I believe all of us do want to live that faithful and fruitful life even though we all too often have turned away from God’s invitation to holy living.
Most of us yearn to live just such a good and faithful life in Christ. We do want to be faithful to highest we know. We do want to practice our faint in ways that are healing and life giving, not destructive and live denying. Disagreement, dialogue, and debate are not foreign to Christians. We are not strangers to honest conversation, patience, loving acceptance, compromise, and mutual agreement. We are not strangers to forgiveness, conversion, transformation, reconciliation, and new life. And yet, it seems in recent years that these attributes have not been welcome guests or widely cultivated practices in our midst.
John Wesley anticipated times like these and he knew everyone needs help to live a holy and good life in a world just like ours. He was fully aware that one could have all the structures and systems right, but lose the power of God that translates into a Christ-like-life… a way of holy living that constantly reforms and renews the individual…and the community. Wesley was determined to foster the disciplined practices that would lead to faithfulness and the way of Jesus. Wesley outlined these practices in the “General Rules,” and instruction in them and accountability to them was centered in the classes that formed the United Societies of the early Methodist movement.
These simple rules transformed and gave new life to women and men of high and low estate, setting them on a path that would become a movement, which formed a denomination and transformed a forming nation in North America.
These three simple rules are just as relevant today as when they were written so long ago.
1 – Do No Harm.
2 – Do Good
3 – Stay In Love With God.
When we speak of discipleship, these three rules describe a disciple. We can, with God’s help, and our wiliness transform ourselves, our church and our community. You are here as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved! GOD SAYS WITH HIS HELP WE CAN DO THIS!
I BELIEVE HIM……WHAT ABOUT YOU.
