Many people today act as if the rules for successful living are somehow bad. Of course, they’re often good. Let’s take sports. With clearly defined rules reinforced by the coaches and referees, players can have a lot of fun. Without rules, however, the game quickly turns ugly. It’s anything but entertaining, enjoyable, or fun. And it can become very dangerous.

The same is true in every sphere of life—sports, education, music, family, church, employment, transportation, technology, spiritual life—you name it. The rules of successful living are important. As 1 John 2:17 says, “The world and its desires pass away, but the person who does the will of God lives forever.”

Of course, to maintain a higher ideal we sometimes need to break certain rules, which happens every time an ambulance turns on its siren and goes through a red light. We see this in Jesus’ own life and ministry. He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly and yet rejected man-made rules that hurt God’s people.

No wonder Jesus said the Greatest Commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind—and to love others as ourselves [Mark 12:28-34]. Let’s do just that today.

This is Luis Palau.