The Rules Don’t Apply to Me

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

I will begrudgingly admit that being a physician can lend itself to arrogance. When disagreeing about almost anything with my wife, whether it’s paint colors or parenting, I’ll often pull out this little argument stopper – Who’s the doctor? I’m mostly joking, but it’s only a joke because my wife knows that I’m at least partially accustomed to believing that I know more about everything.

Though I am prideful, I’ve never been a rule-breaker just for the sake of breaking rules. I’m not a rebel. I just do what I want and if a rule stands between me and what I want, then I’m arrogant enough to consider that rule optional. In my addiction, I saw something I wanted and so, I reached out and took it, eventually using my license to get my pills. Did I know that was against the rules? Of course. Did I care? Not really. I was the doctor. Those rules just didn’t apply to me. Even in my first few attempts at sobriety, I was told what I needed to do to find recovery, but I didn’t like all those steps, and so I picked and chose which ones I’d do. I maintained my arrogance, but not my sobriety.

This is a problem for the addict, who, despite all evidence to the contrary, always thinks he (or she) knows best. He wants to be sober, and he knows the path to recovery, but still, he picks and chooses which rules to follow and which ones to break. He maintains his independence and his pride, but not his sobriety.

We don’t all struggle with drugs, but most of us have struggled with this idea that we don’t make the rules. In today’s passage, we’re told that God made everything. He is the creator, and we are the created. Our position, in relation to him, is one of subservience. He’s in charge. We are not. For many of us, this chafes more than a little. As Christians, we know we should live as God commands, yet it’s our nature to simply do what we want. We’re supposed to be gracious, loving, generous, and pure, but rather, we’re selfish, angry, greedy, and full of lust. Maybe we even find ourselves saying things like – I could never believe in a God who . . . Or maybe we find ourselves demanding that God explain himself to us. Why won’t you give me what I want?

The lesson of Genesis 1:1 though, is that God is the creator. He made the rules, and we only find the life, joy, and peace for which we were made, when we follow his will, not ours.