One likes to make the rules and, with an iron fist, make sure all others in the game are following the rules. Unless she decides to change them. And one refuses to acknowledge that rules to the game even exist. Why have rules? Isn’t a game made to be fun? Rules aren’t fun.

One believes that there is an appropriate way to dance. One lifts her hands in the air and dances as though no one can see her twirling about in dizzy circles. One asks me to match her clothes every morning. One insisted on wearing a cupcake costume every time we went to the library, wore a tutu every day for a full year, and creates with her imagination the most eclectic and haphazard arrangements of attire a mother has ever seen. One doesn’t like to get her hands dirty and eats with a fork and knife. One puts the ice cream from the spoon into her hands to see how it feels first before slurping it into her mouth. One dreams of being a teacher, the other dreams of being a toy tester.

Both these children of mine are fearfully and wonderfully created. God chose them for this family and each of their unique personalities brings something beautiful to our ragtag band. Parenting each of their unique differences has its challenges for that is part and parcel of being a parent and having a family. And just as God created both of them differently, He created you and I with the same uniqueness. We all have our quirks and traits that make us, well, us.

It is wise for us to remember that our personality and our morality are two distinct attributes in what makes up our character as a whole. Each of our personalities are distinct, and only thing that is the same about each and every one of us is the basic principles of humanity at the core of our created being. Unfortunately, in this broken world, those principles become more and more muddled often buried beneath layers of sin. Our moral compass becomes askew and off kilter as the world grows in acceptance of a live and let live mentality.

Do as you please; do what pleases you. False gods become erected idols as we seek fame, money, power, and pleasure, all while forgetting the pain that comes with such pursuits. We rebel at the thought of losing control. We often react instead of responding to trails and difficulty. Some have given up on a god they believe has a lofty expectation list. Some work themselves into a frenzy trying to achieve some order of hierarchy amongst their peers and their god so they may be rewarded for their efforts.

These are the commands, rules, and laws that the Lord your God told me to teach you to obey in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take. You, your children, and your grandchildren must respect the Lord your God as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I give you so that you will live a long time. Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you, and you will become a great nation in a fertile land, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Deuteronomy 6:1-3

But the ‘rules’ as found in the Old Testament known as the Ten Commandments wasn’t a carved out list that God made up on the fly because He figured we needed some order. The Ten Commandments were breathed from the very mouth of God because He knew the very basic principles of humanity at the core of our created being… because He created them. And He knew that His beloved people- His children- were living in a world riddled with rebellion and sin. So He appealed to our core and the heart that housed Him and provided the Commandments to keep us safe from harm, pain, and destruction.

The principles of our humanity are not a game. The rules will never change and He will never decide to change them. He did not create them to steal from us our fun, nor will He ever refuse to acknowledge that the rules exist. He loves us with an unfathomable love and greatly desires to cradle us beneath His great big wings of protection from a world gone wild.

Father, I know that your word is not a rule book but a beautiful love letter of how I should live a righteous life. Help me to see your hand at work within my life as I seek to follow not only your rules but your path uniquely created for me. In Jesus name, amen.