Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist

At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. –

Psalm 119:62

If nothing else, the pandemic has highlighted the divide between those who follow rules to the letter and those who do not.

Psychology says that innate personality traits incline people to one side of that spectrum or the other. So how does that affect your faith journey?

The Bible is filled with fascinating character studies. Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist, are a good picture of how rule-following plays out in life. John took a Nazarite vow intended to set his life apart from worldly concerns and dedicate it to the service of God. Part of that vow included rules on food and alcohol.

John was devout and would be considered a rule follower. Then there is Jesus, moving in amongst common people, eating and drinking, hanging around with unworthy sorts, and irking the religious leaders of his day by healing a man on the Sabbath. He was labeled a rule breaker.

Jesus understood completely the place for manmade rules! “For John, the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ Then Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:33-35).

The Spirit of God called each man to fulfill a specific role, and each faithfully responded. You, too, can follow the Spirit’s lead today. He will never ask you to contradict God’s word, but He may suggest you reconsider a rule!

Give thanks today for God’s spirit of wisdom and His righteous rules.