“He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die.” Proverbs 19:16
There is a true story of a Boeing 707 traveling across the Atlantic ocean in 1959. The plane had experienced some weather difficulty so all the passengers were wearing their seat belts. They appeared to have gotten through the worst of it, so the pilot left the cockpit and took a walk through the cabin to stretch his legs. Just as he arrived toward the rear of the plane he was suddenly thrown into the seats to his left. All the lights went out. The captain tried to get up off what he thought was the floor of the plane but quickly discovered he was actually on the ceiling. The Boeing was on its back and dropping like a meteor. The pilot scrambled back to the cockpit to find the copilot knocked unconscious. He was finally able to realign the plane but only after they had lost 29,000 feet of altitude. In mere seconds the plane would have crashed into the ocean, killing everyone.
It was later discovered the copilot had been reading, and did not notice the blue light indicator warning that the auto-pilot had become disengaged.
Humanity has been given a warning indicator called the Bible. The Bible, God’s authoritative Word, provides detailed instructions on how to live our lives, how to interact with each other, and most importantly, how to relate to God Himself.
“He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of conduct will die.” Proverbs 19:16
There is a clear reason God gave us this: He loves us. He knows this world is riddled with dangerous pitfalls, traps, and snares. He knows we are by nature eager to run into sin. He knows we desire to go beyond boundaries, to push the limits, to challenge authority.
His Word shows us the dangers and urges us to avoid them because not heeding them brings disaster, as the story above so keenly illustrates. The Bible is God’s book of principles to keep us balanced and upright.
It is important to note the Bible teaches by principle, not rules. There is a difference.
Rules say you must do this and this and not do that and that, and by performing these do’s and don’t’s you make yourself acceptable. This is the hallmark of all “religions”, and one of the reasons why so many people detest religion.
The Bible is NOT a book of rules. It is a book of principles. Take, for example, the well known Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are principles as to how we relate to God, to each other, and to ourselves.
Regarding God, He is to be loved and served above all others. But does His commandment tell us exactly how to do that? No, of course not. Each commandment is a principle.
The commandments tell us how to relate to others: we are not to lie, not to steal, not to adulterate, not to covet. We are to honor our father and mother. But do they lay out specific things to do, procedures to follow? No, they are moral principles, not rules.
Therefore, any specific thing we do, if it aligns with these principles, it is right. If it goes against these principles, it is wrong.
Many people say God tries to ruin our lives and kill our fun by laying down archaic guidelines to follow. Nothing could be further from the truth! The most fulfilled, happy, and adventurous life is found in following God’s principles in Scripture.
If we want to chart a good course and keep on track, we have to follow a guidebook. Doing things our own way will never suffice – we are too short-sighted and foolish. We have to follow the principles of one who knows better than us.
That is God, the One created us and created our world. (How could anyone possibly know better than Him?) He also established principles to follow; a way of living which ensures the most beneficial life. For this to work, we have to be in right relationship to Him.
The necessary relationship is a deep subject, encompassing much of the Bible. To learn more about that relationship, and how it comes together, go here.
Let’s make the best of this journey called life. Let’s keep our eyes on the indicator panel…it keeps us alive.
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