Have you noticed, as humans, we tend to live in the extremes? Like the pendulum of a clock, we swing from one thing to another. It is difficult for us to find balance in all the areas of our lives simultaneously. If we do ever achieve equilibrium, we soon realize it is impossible to sustain. This truth reminds me of something Jesus told His disciples.
During the raising of our children, my husband and I were blessed with some excellent parenting resources. From one of those sources, we gleaned the valuable advice: Rules without relationship equals rebellion. That truth, paired with other wisdom and the help of God Almighty, allowed us to develop a home with high standards bathed in grace and love to which our children responded beautifully. It is too bad the Pharisees of old weren’t able to discover such life-giving truths from the resources available to them, the Law and the Prophets. Instead, they exhausted themselves making up new rules, trying to enforce those requirements, and attempting to punish anyone who broke those man-made laws.