“It’s for your own good!”

We have all heard that phrase at least once from our parents,  but I don’t remember noticing that phrase at the end of this passage before…“for your own good.”

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you?

He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.  And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

One of life’s paradoxes is that appropriate rules actually result in greater freedom, not less. The instructions we find in God’s Word are not meant to make us feel imprisoned, but free.  As the one who created us, God knows that our most fulfilling life will be the one that follows his plan.  Just like the owners’ manual for my Honda Odyssey van tells me how to take care of it so that it will perform optimally, God’s Word does the same for us.

All that God teaches us and expects of us is for our own good, not just his glory.  Wow!

Lord, help me to embrace all of your commands and instructions, applying them to my life by the power of your Holy Spirit.  Enable me to do it with joy and a good attitude.  I give you my life today.  Amen.