CHURCHES COLUMN: Rules often annoy us all, but we ignore them at our peril

The Ten Commandments are rules Christians can live by

But rules are with us in every part of our lives. Some rules are not made for the good of our society in general, by one or more people for their own satisfaction and in order to exert power over others.

But for harmony and peace, many rules are made for us all and are a necessary part of living together.

The Highway Code has recently been revised for safer travelling together with general rules for the road.

If it wasn’t for this code and rules, there would be absolute chaos on our roads (even more than we have).

This chaos usually happens because some won’t comply with the order set.

We have rules for anything we join. We have rules for sport, rules for schools, rules for hospitals and for our law courts.

I am led to this subject in view of what has happened to us all in the last two years. Downing Street parties, Covid restrictions, attempts to curb climate change and lastly the collapse of law and order in Eastern Europe, with Russia breaking international law by invading the independent country of Ukraine.

Rules for nations have been made throughout history. The country of Israel received the Ten Commandments and, centuries later, Jesus Christ summed them up as ‘Love God and love your neighbour as yourself’. For we are called to love and respect each other, and that is why rules have to be made to help us achieve that.

For we are rebellious by nature right from childhood. Those of other faiths have their own rules for the welfare of their people. We cannot deny that we ignore or break rules. Give me a place which says ‘Keep Off The Grass’ and I automatically feel the urge to ignore the notice! Rules are made for us, but eventually, if we are to live at peace with each other, we have to recognise a higher law for the survival of the human race. Mankind is not born to be an island, commented one of our English poets. We have to look to each other. Love God and your neighbour, and the latter means every single person on this world whom we encounter. Let us examine ourselves. Do we break rules but do also we recognise those rules which are necessary for us all to survive into the next century?