It actually works! We’re so happy.
Well, it took 30 years, but I’ve finally witnessed a fully functioning Mousetrap board game! We had about 2/3 of one when I was a kid, and try my best, I couldn’t figure out what the missing pieces were or did. This was maddening, as I just knew the mouse trap contraption would be awesome once fully operational. Now that it is, and now that I have a 6 year-old, the only maddening thing is when he “alters” the rules to activate the contraption whenever he deems appropriate. The first few times, we laugh with him, but then the game just gets ruined for everyone. Just as in any other contest—whether physical or mental—if the rules aren’t spelled out or can change at the whim of any player, the game becomes at best a waste of time and at worst a confusing source of anger and frustration.
What happens when each person thinks basketball is played by THEIR rules!
That’s precisely why we have rules in any situation: To provide an authoritative, unchanging, written description of a game, discipline, or belief system. Far more than do’s and don’t’s, they are literally the identity of whatever entity they explain, and without them, that entity ceases to have meaning. For example, how can people meaningfully or enjoyably play basketball if one person feels the rim should be 12 feet tall, another thinks the ball should be the size of an apple, and a third desires each basket to be worth nine points? They can’t. Henceforth, there are rules, which brings refreshment instead of rancor to such recreation. True, there are always slight variations in how these rules can be interpreted, but all interpreters must use the whole rulebook—not just the parts they like—to come to a respectful, rational conclusion. An apple-sized ball can always be thrown through a 12 foot rim for nine points, but not under the name of basketball.
Christianity also has a rulebook, and it also exists to provide an authoritative, unchanging, written description of what the Christian God considers to be necessary for us to know about him and the reality around us. There are also slightly different ways to interpret this Bible when it is taken as a whole. However, when only some verses are highlighted at the expense of others or when external opinions usurp those of the rulebook, the resultant inconsistent and contradictory fragmentation of whatever Jack or Jill wants to believe becomes nothing more than Jackism or Jillism. This makes the term “Christianity” indefinable, very confusing, and utterly meaningless.
The Bible is there for us to know how Christianity is different than what we would come up with on our own. It is there to distinguish the Christian God’s opinion from ours (Click to tweet). And as we might expect from a good, loving God who wants to communicate himself to humankind, seeking to understand Christianity through the lens of everything the Bible says—but also through only what the Bible says—unveils a rational and refreshing divine plan that is neither frustrating nor a waste of time. There are rules, and then there is refreshment, and I invite you in my book Healing Hereafter to be refreshed—even when it seems impossible—by the Bible and Christianity. It’s free to download in just two clicks right here!
And just for transparency’s sake, my son soundly beat me both times we played Mousetrap today, even when he did follow the rules!
