A Way Around Rules

I wonder if there is something in our nature that loves making rules and then figuring out a way around them. There were two things that caught my eye in the last couple of days that made me think about this. One was watching termites and snails and the other was watching a woman in a full burkha with the most beautiful henna tattoos on her feet.

Rules are great; I'm all for them. They bring order, set boundaries, and inspire a certain level of trust in a community. But, as soon as I set a rule or learn about a rule, I start to push back against it and think of a way around it. I'm not necessarily disobedient, but I enjoy pushing some limits to see how far things will stretch.

As we were hiking through the jungle, we all stopped in our tracks to watch a train of termites crossing the path. It seems to me that the rule of nature would be to take the shortest path between two points, which we all know is a straight line. These termites were traveling in a wavy pattern that was pretty, but seemed impractical. The snails were doing the same. Of all God's creatures, snails should be the ones who are going for the shortest route, but they were doing calligraphy in the sand. I'm sure there is some great science behind their movements outside the lines, but it is not self-evident. Perhaps life in its basest form likes to take the scenic route, the one that moves outside the rules.

Hannah and I got a pedicure - not the best idea with sunburnt feet. While we were sitting there, a young woman in a full burkha and her husband came in to put their feet in the fish tank. We're still trying to figure out why fish eat the dead skin off your feet.  Regardless, her feet were beautiful. The one part of her body that was allowed to be seen by everyone around was covered with amazing henna art. Even in the midst of something that appears so confining, the human spirit seems to push the rules.

Can't help but hear Luther's quote, "sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly." Somehow we have to learn how to live graciously in the tension of rules and taking the scenic route.