Every command of God has a rational root.
Every now and again you will see a video on the internet where an interviewer stops ordinary people on the street to ask them questions. Usually, it is something about current events or their political affiliation. But once and a while you may find one where the interviewer stops a person and asks them to recite some historical fact from the annals of ancient or American history. Inevitably the person – typically a youth – who is asked the question has no idea what the correct answer is.
Then that youth will be decimated in the comments section of the video or even in public discussion.
“Kids today don’t know anything about history!”
“This is why we are in trouble, kids don’t know XYZ facts about the Revolutionary War”
“The school system is garbage! If t was any good, kids would know this stuff.”
The list could go on ad infinitum.
But each criticism misses the main point, a point we often miss in religion as well. Is it bothersome that young people are ignorant of history or the fact that ignorance of history will manifest in a lack of wisdom in decision making? A person who cannot recognize the cycles of history cannot be counted on to be an intelligent leader of men.
Yet you rarely hear this explanation. Most people are angry at young kids simply because they do not know their history. That is where the criticism stops. The symptom of ignorance is treated with the severity of a disease. But memorizing dates and places was never the point of learning history. It is more than memorizing dates and times. The study of history is a study of human nature. It is a study of how we as creatures of habit continue to make the same set of cyclic decisions across time.
But this is never discussed in history class. Many, but not all, history classes are taught by coaches whose main goal was to coach high school sports, but in order to do ao they must teach a class, so they choose history and inevitably teach it poorly.
We are angered at the symptom (a lack of basic historical knowledge) rather than the disease itself (a fundamental lack of the understanding of human nature through the lens of the past).
It, therefore, becomes less of a surprise that young people cannot be motivated to learn history without an understanding of that deeper purpose. If they knew they were learning about human nature, about how to earn more money or make better decisions, or to avoid poor decisions n the future, they might sing a different tune about the study of history. But, as is the main mode of motivation used by conservatives, they simply attempt to shame the youth into studying.
As much as I am a fan of the proper application of shame to avert negative behavior, I do not believe it is the most efficient tool in motivating positive behaviors. Nor should it be the tool that is used exclusively when trying to promote positive behaviors and avoid negative ones. Mainly because many people no longer have a functional sense of shame as a whole. To use shame as the primary motivator is to ask a diesel engine to run on octane fuel. Individuals do not have the requisite desire to be a part of society or a moral social fabric that would make the tool of shame such an effective choice for motivating good behavior. Godlessness and chronic immorality damage the ability to sense shame (1 Timothy 4:2), therefore shame cannot be used to motivate good behavior. No one feels ashamed anymore in the godless society of the 21st century.
Therefore it is critical that we understand the root reasons why we should behave in the specific manner outlined by God and small societies that follow God.
Just as it is important to communicate the true reasons for studying history, we must understand the foundational reasons why we should study the law and commands of God. But just like with history, we do not understand the root reason to learn God’s word.
Think about many of the assorted commands of God. How often is it that you hear a well-articulated treatise on the rationality that rests under every law of God? It is quite rare. We hear the commands, which are undoubtedly important. But we hear them without understanding the “Why” behind those commands; a “why” which every single command of God possesses. God does not make arbitrary rules to reduce human enjoyment of life.
Every forbiddance is a guardrail to protect humanity from the negative consequences of that behavior. But commands are seldom taught that way in religion.
We teach the commands but nothing more. We teach about the importance of staying on one side of the guardrail rather than explaining how the guardrail exists to prevent us from falling off a ledge. And we can easily see how ineffective that tactic is based on public opinion of religion, church retention rates, and the self-professed lack of engagement many Christians feel towards religion. People need more than “Do not do XYZ just because”. If every command of God is a guardrail protecting us from suffering, then we must understand how violating God’s commands inevitably leads to suffering. Then we are better equipped to appreciate God’s effort to protect us from those consequences, rather than viewing His commands as arbitrary.
As an example, think about the teachings on modesty. If you think about a sermon on modesty, what comes to your mind? Is it an understanding of how humans will behave relative to the way they are dressed (i.e. dress like a prostitute, act like a prostitute)? It is a deeper study on simple human biology? Do preachers dive deep into the chain reaction that results when people are not disciplined in what they wear?
No. Essentially all you hear is dogma and command with no rationality behind it. The command of modesty is a good one, but every teacher forgets the “why”. Many times this is because preachers are too scared to broach any topic related to sexuality from the pulpit. Many Christians are still pretending that sex does not exist and that babies magically generate in their women’s wombs. They do this to “protect their children”, of course. Though in reality, they are merely protecting themselves; attempting to preserve their perception of their child’s sense of innocence.
Every command of God can be explained rationally, but it is easier for Christians to simply recite the command than to do the difficult work of thought required to mine out those rational reasons underlying each command. It is true that God gave commands and therefore we should follow them. But it is not true that we should simply blindly recite commands without looking to understand why exactly God instituted those regulations, to begin with.
Every action has a result. Every sinful action has a result as well, and it is universally negative in the long term. The commands of God exist to protect humanity from the negative long-term effects of sin, despite their short-term benefits (benefits which religion will again pretend do not exist, further isolating subsequent generations of religious youth from the rigid discipline of the previous generations). That is the root of the law, and that is why the commands must be studied.
History must be studied to learn human nature and to be watchful for the ebbs and flows of humanity over time. Study history to become a better student of human nature, not to amass a collection of facts, dates, and places.
Study the commands of God not only so you can recite and follow them correctly, but so you can also understand the deep and profound logic that rests as the foundation to every command of God.
