Recently, Alice and I saw a sign that said, “Life Rules,” and the rules were named in this order: “Take chances, follow your dreams, risk it all, fall in love, believe in yourself, ask questions, let go, make mistakes, start over, speak the truth, take responsibility, find happiness, live for today.” I’ll agree that some of these are very good rules for daily living if being done for the right reason.
Follow your dreams! There’s an old saying, “When one dreams dreams, some of them are bound to come true.” If people before us hadn’t had a vision for the future, many of the comforts and even necessities would not be available to us today. The same is true for those to follow after us. Those dreams cause us to believe in ourselves. If we didn’t dream and believe in ourselves to accomplish those dreams, we would tread water, getting nowhere in life.
And ask questions! We’ve all had small children at our feet, asking questions faster than we could answer them. Don’t take someone’s word just because they said it; delve into the truth of the matter and see what makes things “tick.”
The next life rule was to let go! This is something that must be taken with the outlook that letting go could be detrimental, not only to ourselves but to those around us. Are we sure we want this to happen? We must always maintain some control over our feelings, attitudes and words. We all have and will continue to “make mistakes” and “start over.” Life goes on, even when we do make mistakes, and we must not wallow in self-pity but strive to do better.
When things go wrong in our lives, we should take responsibility for our share of what caused things to go wrong. Sometimes things get bad because of something we alone did, but that’s not always the case. Yet, sometimes our own attitudes and actions caused the wrong, and we need to be big enough to admit it.
Now, let’s look at some of the “life rules” that demand more of our attention. Take chances! When given the law, God’s people were instructed to, “Fear the Lord God and serve Him” (Deuteronomy 6:13 NKJV). If we allow anything to come between us and our dedication to God, we are taking the biggest chance we’ll ever take, and it won’t be for the best. We must keep the right perspective and not take chances with our souls.
Risk it all! When we risk it all, we take the chance of losing our soul in the process, for Jesus taught, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). God and good must always be the reason for staying sound and maintaining control of our lives (and souls). Don’t risk your soul!
Fall in love! Philosophy gives us these reasons people have for living: (a) to live, (b) to love and to be loved, (c) to be with others, (d) to excel and (e) to believe in something everlasting. Loving is only secondary to living. The prophet Jeremiah said, “The Lord has appeared to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. We must make sure that the objects of our affection are everlasting ones, not worldly ones!
Speak the truth! Jesus taught: “You are of your father the devil… does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). In other words, if you don’t speak the truth, you speak lies and you belong to Satan. Followers of Christ must always ‘speak the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15).
Find happiness! Often folks are happy only when they are basking in earthly pleasures. The psalmist said, “…Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15). In teaching His followers the kind of people they ought to be, Jesus told them the rules to follow and said, “…Blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17). What could possibly cause anyone to be happier than to know that he is doing the things that will be rewarded by a home in Heaven? Be happy in the Lord!
Live for Today! This philosophy is rampant in the world. People are seeking pleasure in earthly things as if that’s all that matters. Living for today brings sin into people’s lives and separates them from God. Paul nailed this one when he said, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Today is going to end, and eventually this earth with it. Eternity is in front of us. Where do you want to spend yours? Strive to follow “life rules” that will be rewarded by an eternal heavenly home!
