God’s Commands Are For Our Good
Deuteronomy 10:12–13 (NIV)
12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Often people perceive God’s commands as restrictive, sometimes even oppressive, but they are not? In this passage from Deuteronomy, God reminds his people that the commands and decrees he was giving them was out of love for them, “for your own good.” Would a parent be loving if they didn’t give their children any boundaries or rules? I would argue they were not being loving because it’s not good for our children to do whatever they want because it may not be good for them or others around them. From their limited, immature viewpoint, what may seem restrictive or unfair because “everyone else is doing it,” we know from experience will keep them safe, teach responsibility, discipline, how to sacrifice in the present in order to reap benefits in the future. Yes, some parents can be overly restrictive as well because they are reacting to their own past experiences (they don’t want their children to do what they did, or have similar negative outcomes). Parents are not perfect either. However, unlike our limited human capacities, God sees the bigger picture and the commands he gives will always keep us on the right path, even if we don’t understand them, or they seem to limit our freedom. Even though, as Christians we are free from the Mosaic Law, the Law is still good and expresses God’s love for all people, and leads us on the right path.