When new parents come into the school, I explain to them in the orientation that in the classroom we have four main rules: no talking without permission, do not get out of your seat without permission, respect your teacher at all times, and follow directions to the point. There are other rules we have that relate to hair length, dress, gum chewing, and cell phone use. We do our best to make the rules we have relate to what Scripture teaches directly or to a principle found in Scripture.
People do not always like rules, but rules are necessary. Can you imagine a school without rules (I think you can)? Can you imagine a classroom without rules? Imagine driving on the roads without any rules. What would a society be like without rules? Picture a household without rules. What would happen? Chaos, violence, self-will. In a word, destruction. We need rules because rules are protection. Rules are guidance. Rules are security.
Where does the concept of rules start? It starts with God in the Garden of Eden. God gives rules because He is a God of order, a God of love, and a God of righteousness. He is also a God of authority. In Genesis 2:16, 17 God told Adam that he could freely eat of every tree in the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he could not eat of, for in the day he might eat of that tree, he would surely die. We know how the story unfolded and the perpetual consequences. Here we see that God set up these rules as a protection to the man. Rules establish boundaries so that people know what to do and what not to do. Harmful things and harmful activities exist. Rules protect us from what would harm us or others. Often people do not know or do not care about what will harm them, but the rules serve as a restraint for protection anyways. Now that mankind has a sin nature, the flesh wants to do the things that please it, whether it be self-will or some type of gratification. Rules restrain.
Rules also guide. Psalm 119:105 says that God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. God’s Word is His law, His commandments, what He wants. The commands of Scripture guide our thoughts and behavior. Rules not only guide behavior; they also create order. By guiding behavior, rules establish patterns. We want children to learn the right way and to stay away from the wrong way. Rules help develop right patterns and influence thinking. And as children develop patterns and are submissive to those patterns, they begin to recognize the value of the rules as well as the hardship and ruin that comes from not having those rules. This is when children start to see things for themselves and function within the rules on their own. We call this maturity.
Lastly, rules provide security. When the Lord gave the children of Israel the Ten Commandments, He told Moses to set bounds around Mt. Sinai, lest the people break through, touch the mountain and die. When they saw the boundary, they knew which side they should be on, and which side pleased Jehovah. They knew they were safe from negative consequences so long as they stayed on the right side of those clearly-marked boundaries.
At Bethel we know that rules, in and of themselves, are not the solution; that is why we don’t rely on rules for spiritual growth or for dealing with sin. By the way, the absence of rules is not the solution either. We rely on the Word of God because it is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; it penetrates, it convinces, and it convicts. The problem is spiritual and so is the solution. At the same time, rules are definitely helpful and necessary. When people chafe at the rules, it is not the rules; it is their heart.