God’s Rules Are Good for You

This post was inspired by a recent sermon: “Why should I care about God’s rules?”

For most of my life, I’ve described myself by saying, “I’m not really a rules guy.”

I tend to struggle being close to people who really love the rules. That’s not because I’m naturally rebellious. I don’t mind being led. I just don’t want to be controlled or bossed around.

Because of that, I genuinely understand why so many people struggle with the idea that they should live by God’s rules.

For a lot of people, God’s rules—the moral commands we find in Scripture—feel burdensome or unnecessarily restrictive. They look like limits placed on human freedom. They sound like divine versions of “because I said so.”

But the truth is actually the opposite.

We’ve been taught to think of freedom as life without limits. Do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. Answer to no one. But that vision of freedom has never delivered what it promises.

The Bible defines freedom differently.

Freedom isn’t about doing whatever you want. Freedom is about being able to do what you were made to do.

Jesus puts it bluntly. He says that everyone who sins is actually a slave to sin, and that real freedom only comes when the Son sets us free (John 8:34–36). In other words, unchecked desire doesn’t produce freedom. It produces bondage.

You can try to use your freedom to drive a car into water or ride a boat across land. But that freedom won’t take you very far, because those things weren’t designed for that. You can try to play golf with a tennis racket or play tennis with a golf ball, but that freedom will only lead to frustration. You’re using something outside of its intended purpose.

Human life works the same way.

Freedom only works when it operates in alignment with design.

Scripture has always made this connection. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom begins not with autonomy, but with humility. Not with self-rule, but with recognizing that God knows something about life that we don’t.

That’s why Psalm 19 describes God’s law as “perfect, reviving the soul.” God’s rules don’t drain life from us. They restore it. They don’t restrict joy. They protect it.

This is where many people misunderstand God’s commands. We assume they exist to stifle freedom, but Scripture presents them as a gift. Moses told Israel that God’s commandments were given “for your good” (Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Not to control them, but to help them live.

God’s rules are not arbitrary. They flow from who God is. Goodness is not a human invention. Goodness is rooted in God’s character. His commands show us what He is like and shape us to become like Him.

And of course they lead to flourishing. God made the world, and He made you. He didn’t create randomly or carelessly. He designed everything to work a certain way. When we live in alignment with that design, life works. When we don’t, it eventually breaks.

When we follow God’s ways, we don’t lose freedom.

We finally begin to experience it.