Good

I just came across a new idea. No, that's not accurate. Like a used car, new to me. But it was a revelation and a bit of a surprise.

I've argued for a long time that God gives us laws and commands not to kill our fun, but to give us the greatest joy. This new idea is closely related and, probably, quite obvious to most. It occurred to me why the idea is true. It's because what He commands is what we would most enjoy. We just don't know it.

Years ago (40?) we bought a dog from a pet shop. It was a Lhasa Apso puppy, a pedigreed one. We got it cheap because it had been in the pet shop for three months. When we took it home, the dog was not your hyper little dog like most of his breed. He was quiet and timid. Why? Because he had come to believe that that box he was in was "safety" and "comfort" and "life." (We named him "Flash" for the irony of it -- he didn't like to run.) As time went by and he experienced life outside of the cage, he figured out that running around was fun, that being connected to a "family" was a joy, that he was made for this.

That's what I'm talking about. We were not made for sin; we were made to, first, glorify God. We were made to love. We were made for humility and gentleness, generosity and kindness -- we were made for all the virtues God commands and not for all the sins He forbids. He doesn't merely command them because it will be better for us. He commands what He does because it is good to us. Understand what I mean. There is "good for you" and "good to you." You may, for instance, diet because it's "good for you," but we don't really enjoy dieting. On the other hand, what is "good to you" are the things that, to you, are pleasant, enjoyable ... "good." And I believe that God's commands are good for us and good to us. We were made for them, and, like poor Flash, we don't know it until we arrive in it.

I believe that God's commands are in our best interest, but I believe further that we find our highest fulfillment in them. We were made for those virtues, actions, ideas. Even without knowing why, when we are in them, we enjoy it. It aligns with our spirits. There is joy and peace in being what God intends us to be. Conversely, being outside of that condition produces tension and unrest, even if we can't figure out why.

Now, I'm willing to admit that I'm realizing this late and many of you probably already knew it. Still, I thought maybe one or two of you were back here with me and could benefit from seeing that the goodness of God is seen in His commands to us so that we can realize (make real to ourselves) the goodness that He intended for us to be and enjoy. It changes, in my mind, the whole concept of "commands" and turns them into "pleasures." It makes obedience a truly abundant life.