What do you think about rules? Are you a “by the rules” person who is dedicated to doing things according to the standards and practices set out by society? Or do you resist the rules, find ways to creatively or quietly work around them, or at least protest loudly (even if it is just in your mind)? What is your relationship with rules?
And how are you at making rules for others? As a teacher, parent or grandparent, do you set rules and boundaries and stick to them? Or do you make the rules but then bend them a little here or a lot there when protests or tears come from the children?
Then there are the rules & policies set by our elected government. In Alberta, we have an interesting relationship with government. It is often said in Alberta that we want less government and more freedom for individual choice. At the same time, we all realize that well-functioning government rules mean that we have safe drinking water, stable communities and quickly accessible health-care.
Now, I’m not here today to tell you whether you should be a rule follower or a rule breaker, whether you should love government rules or resist them. What I do want to do today, based on faith tradition and scripture, is to talk about the paradox of rules and freedom. Here is what scripture says: Rules set you free!
Rules set you free! As a young child in the 60’s, that is not what I remember being said in society about rules. The 60’s were a time of protests, challenges to rules and traditions, and experimentation with drugs, lifestyle, and music. Institutions were no longer valued for what they had meant in society. Individual needs and wants now took precedence over the good of the community. Rules, rituals, traditions, boundaries – all those were seen as bad. Creativity, individualism, uniqueness were named good!
Each and every one of us – whether we love rules or resist rules – have been affected by the 60’s. We have embraced individual choice in everything from cell phones to dairy products. Some of you will remember the day when you walked into a store and had 2 or 3 choices at the most, not 50 kinds of yogurt and 40 kinds of cell phones. Now, most of us would feel quite disturbed if we suddenly were reduced to 2 kinds of yogurt or only 1 kind of bread on the shelf. We have fully incorporated and welcomed having a multitude of choices so that we can meet individual needs. And some of that is very good – for example, it means that people with particular food needs or allergies can buy nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and more – to stay healthy and be well.
But the shadow side of all those choices is how much time they take in our lives.