Rulishness or Authentic Godliness

Children look for rules to be able to stay our of trouble.

Mature adults look for understanding and deeper relationships with God and others.

Most "religious" people are on the level of children in their understanding of God and His Word. They look for the rules to be able to feel safe and to appear superior to others.

Mature believers look for the principles of God to learn His heart and function on the level of love and understanding.

The more mature believer wants to carry out the Spirit of the principles and laws that function with compassion and kindness.

"Religious" people do not attempt to understand others, they merely expect the rules an exact revenge or punishment when those rules are violated even in the slightest.

Rulishness is designed to control others while mature believers attempt to understand to be able to help. Never anywhere in the Bible do we see a passage that says we are to control others or intimidate them into submission.

Those who use rules to control others don't care about the person they wish to dominate, all they care about is making them a puppet of them.

Matthew 23:15 (ESV)

"15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

The goal of the "religious" people is to shape others into their own idea of righteousness, no understanding or love is necessary.

Those who are authentic believers love others and are more concerned about their well-being than the rules. They seek to help through instruction and empathy. The goal of the authentic believer is to restore the broken person to full health. The goal of the dominant rulish person is to praise themselves if they can force another person to think the way they think. They have no compassion or tolerance of difference in order to learn another person's heart or even to learn themselves, they cannot be taught because they are stubborn and self-righteous. These people ruin relationships every where they go and never become close to anyone, everything they do is based on superficial appearances.

Let's not be people who focus on rules rather lest be people who care deeply for the well-being of others that they might be restoed.