"What Are God's Laws Like?"

Psalm 19:7-14 

If you are a rule follower, then you love laws. You love having a set of rules and regulations that guide the world around you. If you are a rule bender or rule breaker, then you feel confined by rules and feel they sometimes confine you.

Beginning with verse seven of Psalm 19, we have a lovely song about the laws of God.  This psalm calls them by different names... teachings, rules, orders, commands, judgments.  Pretty authoritarian language, and yet the descriptions are lovely, melodic words.... that lead to positive feelings.

• perfect teachings give new strength
• trusted rules make people wise
• right orders make people happy
• pure commands light the way
• true judgments that are completely right

Somehow these laws don't make me want to run away, but make me want to learn more about them. If I can feel stronger, wiser, happy,  and have a right and lighted way set before me... then I''m all in! Aren't you?

How do these words describing God's laws feel different than words describing human-prescribed laws?  How do they feel the same? What rules and orders do we have in daily life that lead us to be stronger, wiser and happier?

That's what we will look at in the Sunday message this week.  Finding light and life in the order around us and seeking to enact 'laws' for our own life that bring happiness and goodness into the world.  It can be hard to do when we are so used to finger-pointing and finding specks in our neighbors' eyes. But these rules aren't about finding fault, they are about embracing life.

So instead of saying commands in a negative way, how about re-writing them to focus on love and appreciation for one another. Instead of saying Do not steal, say Respect your neighbor's property.
Instead of finding fault, how about finding a path to understanding.  Rather than saying, "the criminal got what he deserved," why not say, "I'd like to find out how I can help heal his brokenness."

It's a tall order.  Living into God's way instead of our own way. But we can all work on it together, one step at a time.

Questions? Comments? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.  I enjoy hearing from you.