By the Way: Rules and regulations
By Roland Weisbrot on August 3, 2024.
This summer, my wife and I decided to build a small wooden deck on the front of our house. Initially, we were excited about the project – until we looked into permits, that is. Now, both my wife and I are well-educated and, in our better moments, somewhat intelligent; however, after hours of pouring over the pages upon pages included in the permit application, we could barely make heads or tails of the document. We consulted several times with the helpline and eventually submitted our haphazard permit application. The permit was reviewed, and the governing body decided it had to go to a special committee for review. At this point, I admit I was rather frustrated. Why all this trouble and cost for a simple wooden deck? I chafed against all the rules and regulations imposed on what I thought would be a simple project. Then, when reading about some people getting injured when a poorly built deck collapsed, I was reminded that all these policies and procedures exist for a reason. We expect buildings and other structures to be safe, and permits (as frustrating, annoying, and sometimes over the top as they are) help us to ensure that. I also know that none of us would like it if our neighbours built all sorts of crazy and unsightly structures because there were no rules in place about how land could be developed. So, rules and regulations have their place. As Christians we should know this better than anyone else, because God gave us the Ten Commandments, and as much as we so often wish to rebel against them, or we find them too demanding, they were made for our good. Each Commandment teaches us something important about God, our neighbour, and ourselves, and they give us a healthy way to order our relationships, our communities, and our lives. Roland Weisbrot is lead pastor of Victory Lutheran Church 11-10
