THE TENSION BETWEEN RULES AND RELATIONSHIPS. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath. And I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath!” Mark 2:27-28

Observation:
The Pharisees made a big deal about Jesus and his disciples’ activities on the Sabbath. They had rules about the Sabbath that were sometimes ridiculous. They took one of the ten commandments and built a whole commentary based on hundreds of rules about the Sabbath. This tradition came so far as to change the original intent of God with t he Sabbath. Jesus challenged that mindset and brings back the original intent for God’s rules--to benefit people. Jesus points out that the best way to solve a tension between rules and relationships is to air on the side of relationships without breaking the original intent of the rules.

Application:
Rules are important and necessary because they provide margins that define the pathway in front of us. Just like cones properly arranged in a traffic hazard zone provide a clear lane for flow, rules are meant to benefit the people that use them. One problem comes if we get rid of the cones and allow people to drive over the hazards, hoping for no accidents. Another problem comes when the cones become barricades rather than delineators. People get stalled and flow is interrupted. This creates a tension that must be balanced. And when someone with authority deals with the tension and tries to arrange the cones in the right way, some other people will get offended. These people deal with this tension by putting rules about people. For them is more important to follow procedure than being effective. Rules become red tape. And this generates frustration and sometimes rebellion. We need to deal with tension by honoring people above the rules. And this mindset requires a greater sense of discipline and discernment. Rules are to bless people, not to make their lives more complicated. We need to embrace rules, but we need to manage them well so they never become more important than relationships.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, please forgive me for the many times I put rules above relationships, or when I dismiss certain rules in order to make people happy. Give me wisdom and discernment to deal with this in a way that honors you. Amen!