Breaking rules does not lead to real happiness. It may be thrilling in the moment. You may get a strong hit of dopamine and adrenaline. But eventually, one way or another, to one degree or another, all those “devices and desires of your own heart” will leave it broken.
Yet keeping the rules is also no guarantee of happiness. I’ve met many a grumpy rule-keeeper. It seems quite righteous and holy, but there is nothing very satisfying to a human being about a list of do’s and don’ts. Your ego may be bolstered for a moment, but eventurally your heart will feel empty and alone.
The missing element in both approaches to life and happiness is this: Awe. What the Bible often refers to as “the fear of the Lord.”
Not being afraid of the Lord. Not cowering in terror before the Lord. Not waiting for him to smite you as he drops his other divine shoe in disgust.
No. This kind of fear is all about reverance. Jaw-dropping wonder. Standing in astonishment before a God who is so gracious, loving, and redemptive.
Obedience sparked by wonder—now that’s a different mode of living! That’s the kind of spirituality worth passing on to your children, and your children’s children.
(See Psalm 128.)