One day my two and a half year old nephew, who was visiting me and had just refused to take a shower, came to ask me for permission to play the piano; I told him no, after the shower; then he wanted to go outside and play, no, after the shower, after, I think, he wanted to take pictures with my camera, no, after the shower. It must be said that the shower was becoming urgent because his diapers had to be changed at the same time. But he didn't see things the same way, he came back to see me in the kitchen, not to ask me anything else but to give me his opinion on my 'requirements' in terms of hygiene; 'Aunty Bola', he said to me, 'you're overdoing it'; I was so taken aback that I burst out laughing.
We are often like this with God. Faced with my insistence, my nephew had to take a shower before starting his day and his games. I knew what he didn't know, it was good for him. In this, he reveals himself to be perfectly human. It is that, ignorant and childish, we want to play when we need to be cleaned. We do not want to submit to the rules established for our good, and especially to God's rules. This goes against our present desires, so we rebel. Doesn't God have the right to tell us what is good or bad, to demand a certain behavior and lifestyle from us, to insist that we remain pure instead of dirtying ourselves with lies and other behavioral flaws?
It is a bad trial that is made against God when, to justify their lack of religious assiduity, some complain of having rules of life imposed on them when all they want is to believe in God and live their lives without being told what to do. But we are always told what to do. Human authorities consider themselves entitled to regulate our behavior; they certainly don't tell us not to 'steal' the neighbor's wife, but they do tell us not to 'steal' our business money; they force us to drive on the right rather than the left, at least if we are in France, but especially in England, do the opposite; they demand a percentage of our income in exchange for services rendered and as a gesture of solidarity with others in the community, and if we don't accept, they take it directly from our bank accounts.
They do not hesitate to tell us where we can put our house, how we must build it, down to the smallest architectural detail; at what time we can make noise and when we must absolutely be quiet. They decide for us how fast we are allowed to drive, then monitor us to verify our obedience and inflict heavy penalties on us in the event of proven rebellion. And while my body is mine and mine alone, I can also be ordered not to consume certain substances, prevented, moreover, from enjoying my freedom to sit on the steps of the Élysée to savor these smelly 'herbal' substances.
So many rules, so many rules. Yet we conform to them willingly or unwillingly, because these same authorities can decide to use the means at their disposal to force us to follow. But even more revealing is that, while reluctantly, we recognize their right to interfere in our affairs and try to prevent us from killing ourselves by driving at 300 km/h, by consuming hard drugs, and so on. Rules regulate the behavior of man who has lost his initial perfection and the absolute love of good. They are indispensable within any community, religious or otherwise. They are not the prerogative of communities of faith.
Can we say that we have become extraordinarily perfect that a God superior to us and Himself perfect could not find fault with our behavior? There is an absence of logic, because we agree to submit to a professional hierarchical superior who demands that we be present at work and do actual work instead of surfing the internet, that if by a fit of whim we find ourselves strolling on the banks of the Seine instead of showing up for work, a deduction be made from our salary, that if we are a constant source of discord at work we stay outside and never come back; who sets limits that must not be crossed.
Yet some find it curious that God, author of life, source of our breath, possessor of all that exists, wants to influence our behavior. That there are laws of God that we do not like, what could be more normal; He is the author of good, we have moved away from him somewhat. No, Christianity is not primarily a matter of laws and rules, it is a relationship of love, but who says relationship, says respect, and who says respect says principles. And in this relationship the superior is certainly God. If we conform to the laws of men, intelligence wants us to choose of our own free will to conform to those of God. But at least let us stop finding as a pretext for our religious dilettantism the fact that someone would try (how vile) to make us follow rules of life; translation 'Lord you abuse!'.
Shalom.
You must be logged in to post a comment.