Tip of My Iceberg

She’s not quite eight-years-old, but she has thoughts, opinions, and convictions that would rival someone three times her age.

Our daughter and her family living in northern Virginia reworked their home to offer their daughter a room of her own. Having shared a bedroom with her little brother due to limited space was a necessity. But Sloane’s parents worked their magic–giving up office space for their girl to have space of her own.

She’s owned it with passion.

When my daughter, Melody, went up to Sloane’s room the other day, she was confronted by a determined daughter who had created rules for her room–and for those who would choose to enter in.

The list not only included how one must act in her room, but how one must look.

“No dirty socks on the bed.” Melody was forced to remove hers because of their questionable state of cleanliness.

“No phones in the room” This is possibly a stance taken because Sloane doesn’t have a phone and wasn’t free to use her mom’s at will.

“No messy hair.” Really?

Then the room rules. “No feet on my stuffies.” “No messing up the bed.” “No boys.”

My favorite, however, was “No crying.” I haven’t figured that one out yet.

People everywhere want others to respect their own world view, the rules they’ve made for themselves that they follow, whether it conflicts with someone or not. It’s how we want to control our lives and how others impact our lives.

The dominant world view today is termed “post-modern”; roughly, “Everything is subjective.” What’s right for me doesn’t have to be right for you, but don’t let what’s right for you impinge on what’s right for me. Your rules may not be my rules.

There is an arrogance in thinking we get to choose what’s right and wrong, that there are no absolutes. It’s why we’re seeing crime increase dramatically, people feeling unsafe, and people choosing to treat others and their possessions any way they want. Personal rules for life that don’t take into account the needs of others.

Absolute truth is seen as the enemy of freedom, but freedom comes from the truth, and ignoring that is not only a loss of control but hardship. A cat can’t say, “I want to be a fish because I like fish and I want to eat them whenever I like,” and jump into a lake expecting to live. He wasn’t made to live in water. That choice isn’t freedom for him but death.

We want to control life in a way that works for us, but we don’t have control over all the circumstances of our lives, so that is impractical at best.

Jesus put it simply. “Jesus told him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6. He’s making a statement about absolute truth, and that knowing Him personally can establish us in an eternal relationship with the Father.

There are those who would say that such a claim is a power play to get us to believe and follow Jesus. They’d claim that what Jesus is talking about is not freedom but constraint and boundaries. Yet it’s why the cat trying to live in a lake isn’t free–he’s just dead. Just because he thought he wanted something didn’t provide him with freedom to do it.

We have to take into account that we were made to live a certain way. There are physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual rules that are necessary to follow to live healthy lives. I can’t go for long periods of time without water; my body needs it to live. I can’t ignore trauma and tragedy in my life; my emotions need to deal with what impacts my heart. I can’t live as if I’m the only one who matters; the world is full of people who share a planet, and their needs and desires are as significant as my own.

Truth isn’t a power play; it’s how to live in a world populated by many people who need a way to get along. We have wars and disasters because people choose to do what they want, ignoring the needs of others.

Sloane’s rules may seem inconsequential to others, but to her they explain what’s important.

When Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” (John 8:32) He meant He had come to establish a truth that would offer us grace and forgiveness, a way to save us from blame, shame, and guilt, because He came to take on the burden of our mismanaged lives on Himself.

And offer us love and acceptance.

Sloane is trying to order her world in a way that works for her. It doesn’t always work for her family. One day, she’ll get that.

Jesus came to order our world through His gifts of love and forgiveness. To offer us eternal life and freedom from guilt and shame.

What rules and truth do you follow?