Daily Butter11/1: Rules

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/1/11):

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping Your word.   

…

I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

(Psalm 119:9, 16 HCSB)

When in doubt, read the directions. My college roommate and I had an ongoing “debate” about our difference of opinion on ethics. He had a “deontological theory of obligation” while I claim to have a “theocentric teleological theory of obligation.”

That’s a lot of big words to say that he claimed the right thing to do is the right thing to do because God’s Word commanded it and the wrong thing to do was wrong because God’s Word prohibited it. Since I was a psychology major rather than a math major, I chose to adopt (perhaps invent) a theory which left for some “gray areas” where Scripture might not be as clear (like should the toilet paper roll off the front or back of the roll when hanging on the wall hanger). While a “teleological” view is often summed up as “the end justifies the means,” I add the word “theocentric” to signify that the desired “end” is the smile of God.

Yes, Scripture has many clear “do’s and don’ts” that help me understand what He expects of His children and guidelines that should guide my actions. Psalm 119, the longest “chapter” in all Scripture, is a beautiful reminder of the importance of His word. Each set of 8 verses begins with the same letter of the Ancient Hebrew alphabet through the entire alphabet.

The debates in our dorm room is a bit of a moot point as “obedience” is the way to make God smile, but I still think I was right. You see scripture has no clear decree on toilet paper rolls, so I chose to adapt from the back-of-the-roll hanging style I grew up with to the front-of-the-roll style of my in-laws with which my wife was accustomed. By the time my son was two-years-old and began spinning piles of “TP” onto the floor, the rolls (and roles) reversed. I marveled at the wisdom of my parents (and how much my son is like me) when we found that he didn’t waste the tissue when the rolls spun from the back. He’s grown up and moved on to remote control buttons and light switches, but the rolls remain the same. While it may not make God smile, doing things that keep my wife from frowning seems a step in the right direction. I’m sure my college roommate would say I simply applied Scripture (“Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:17b-18 HCSB).

Regardless of perspective, the Word is STILL important and my many words are beginning to run on and on and….

- Andy Jentes