On Speed Limits

***I'll be at a conference today and tomorrow and am not sure if I'll have the chance to post on Friday. So, if you don't see something from me then, forgive me and look for Saturday's "Psalm Saturday." Thanks for reading!***
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Let me begin by saying that I don't always follow the speed limit. I am human, and I get in a hurry sometimes. OK.....a lot of the time. Nevertheless, I try my best to follow it when I can or when I'm thinking about it.

I notice that I'm not alone in this. Most people don't follow speed limits. I mean sure, we all go relatively close to the speed limit (most of the time). For instance, I hardly ever go more than 5 mph over the posted limit. However, how many of us actually fully obey the speed limit signs that we see posted along the highway?

Speed limits are posted by the government to help us out. They're not there to inconvenience us or to cause us deliberate frustration (although you might tend to disagree sometimes). The speed limits are set in place for safety reasons, to reduce accidents.

I'm not going to get into a discussion about whether or not it's a sin to go 57 in a 55 mph zone, but I do want to make a connection between our driving habits and our heart habits.

We treat God's commandments like we treat speed limits.

How? Speed limits are not suggestions. They are the law. They are commandments. If you speed, then you're breaking that law. However, we believe that driving a little bit faster than the speed limit is OK. After all, we're in a hurry. Nothing will happen to us. We have a good reason. Or, we just don't care because the speed limit is an inconvenience.

Similarly, we treat God's commandments like suggestions, too. "God, I know you told me to love my neighbor, but I just can't love THAT person....God, I know you told me to give you my entire heart, but you'll take 50% won't you? I mean, I really can't miss my TV show.....God, I know you told me to go and make disciples of all nations, but I know you're just talking to missionaries. You really can't expect me to make a difference in another country, right?......" And so the list goes on.

God's commandments are not suggestions. They are commandments. They are not set in place to inconvenience us or too keep us from enjoying life. They are there for our safety, for our benefit, and ultimately for our greater joy. We would do well to abide by them and save ourselves some nasty consequences.

Speeding tickets are terrible, but disobeying God's commandments have a much greater consequence.