Speed Limits and Other Rules

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. (Psalm 19:7-9 ESV). In May of 1901, Connecticut became the first state to enact a speeding driver law. The State General Assembly passed a bill submitted by Representative Robert Woodruff that stipulated the speed of all motor vehicles should not exceed 12 mph on country highways and 8 mph within city limits. My family will tell you that I am either the unluckiest individual when it comes to speeding tickets, or just plain unaware. In my younger days I couldn’t seem to go more than a year or two without getting stopped for exceeding the speed limit. And, this is from the driver who has to be told to get out of the “fast lane” because I’m going to slow! Don’t you just hate it! It really seems unfair to me. Rules are like that sometimes. All of us have different rules that we find it difficult to accept or obey. The following list, written and published by Erma Bombeck is meant to be funny, though it serves to remind us of the incredible mass of rules in our lives. Everyone has a long list of them. Here’s what she says:  Never have more children than you have car windows.  Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth.  Pick your friends carefully. A “friend” never goes on a diet when you are fat or tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who remembers Mother’s Day when his gift is a smoke alarm.  Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.  Know the difference between success and fame. Success is Mother Teresa. Fame is Madonna.  Never be in a hurry to terminate a marriage. Remember, you may need this person someday to finish a sentence.  There are no guarantees in marriage. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a Sears’s battery.  Never go to a class reunion pregnant. They will think that’s all you have been doing since you graduated. I don’t think those are the rules that necessarily bring success, though they do elicit a chuckle. The only rules that can guarantee success in life come from the Scripture. Adopt those, as principles of your life and you will never be disappointed. Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, “The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom, but its Master”.