Friday, June 26, 2009

One Question Friday

I’m going to try something new. Every Friday I’m going to ask a question. The questions I choose might be ambiguous on purpose. The goal is to have you answer the question according to your beliefs, where you’re at in life or a circumstance that might have recently impacted you.


The only thing I ask is that you provide an explanation for why you answered the way you did.

It is my hope to understand you better through this and also to gain a greater understanding of humanity and how people make decisions.

Ready for One Question Friday?
Is it okay to break the rules?

After you’ve felt free to write your thoughts in the comments, stop by 5 Minutes for Faith to read what I wrote about God doing a new thing.



*photos by flickr

17 comments:

  1. Sure, feel free to break the rules. Just as long as they're not my rules.

    My brother-in-law explained to me that there are levels of morality (rules basically) and some are more serious than others. It's complex, but appropriate.

    For me, it's a gut feeling of whether or not something is right or wrong. You know in your heart.

    I have no idea if that made sense, but hopefully it did. Great question though!

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  2. What an EXCELLENT idea! I love it and can't wait to play every Friday!

    My answer: YES!

    My explanation: I talk to my students about this a lot actually. I post a poster in my classroom called the 6 levels of moral development by Krohnberg. The fourth stage of moral development is following the rules. There are actually two higher than this.

    What if Rosa Parks never broke the rules? Or what if all the people living in Germany during WWII never broke the rules by taking refugee Jews and hiding them away for safety? What is the abolitionists never broke the rules to lead slaves to freedom? Sometimes the rules are wrong. We need to recognize these instances and take a stand!

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  3. Yes, with thought though. Not blindly or at whim. With a clear understanding, and with the willingness to accept the consequences. Sometimes doing the right thing wins out and necessitates breaking the rules.

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  4. I'm not really a rule breaker unless the rule is unfair or unjust but then I let someone know my feelings about it first. Then I might break it. With writing, I'm finding I am breaking some rules cause I think we can get too caught up in all of them and lose our uniqueness too.

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  5. I tend to be the type of person who doesn't break rules. So, if I can, I will fight to have bad rules changed.
    If I can't get a bad rule changed and it is morally acceptable to do so, I will break it.

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  6. Looks like I'm swimming against the stream here, but I'm leaning toward "No". No, I don't think it's okay to break the rules, whether they be God's rules or rules put in place for safety (speed limits, life jackets, helmet laws, etc.) Does that mean that I always follow the rules? (Ahem) No. I agree, some rules are unfair or unjust and should be changed, but I think the majority are created with the intention of making life better and safer for all of us. Great question, Wendy!

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  7. There's grey in everything, so I'm going to say "it depends". If it's for the better of mankind, or to honour your responsibility to God--for safety or otherwise, then, yes, I'd break a rule and suffer mankins punishment for it knowing in God's eyes I followed what He taught me.

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  8. Break God's rules as stated in the Bible-No. Break man-made rules that contradict God's rules-Yes. But since we live in a relativistic society, where rules and truth are flux, I would guess most people have been "taught" to believe that whatever works for you is fine, that there are no absolutes. But I believe that the Bible is our absolute and that we have to believe what it says, even if it goes against popular opinion.

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  9. Not God's rules but probably everyone else's on a case by case basis. Within the boundries of the law of course. I break them all the time with my query's.

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  10. Within the context of God's rules: No

    Generally speaking: Yes

    God's rules trump all...

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  11. Hi Wendy, first i wanted to say thank you for stopping by my blog. You made my day. I hope others will stop by too.
    Is it okay to break the rules? I think as long as no one gets hurt. I wouldn't get in the habit but sometimes you need a break, right?

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  12. Wendy, your question comes at a pivotal point in my life, as God has pushed me to break a rule I previously thought fixed. He's teaching me new definitions of faith, victory, and love.

    Our God will not be put in a box. It's okay to break the rules, as long as He's doing the leading.

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  13. I know there's a grey area between the black and white, but I don't think it's up to us to seek it out just so we can say the rules don't apply to us. Rules are usually created for our own good, even when we don't always understand why we need them. I don't question God's wisdom so no, I don't think there's ever a time when it's right to break his. I don't think it's right to glide through stop signs just because there's no traffic coming, or ignore speed limits, "forget" to return something I've borrowed, or toss litter out where it says no littering, all because I don't think I'll get caught. Now if I came to a beach that was posted "no swimming when lifeguard not on duty" and I saw someone in the water and in trouble... well, of course, I'd break that rule. So I guess what I'm saying is that breaking rules for self-gratification is wrong. Breaking them to save life or limb is probably okay.

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  14. For me it would depend on the rules themselves. Some rules, like in writing, are okay to break. Others, like the commandments, aren't. Some of the most interesting stories deal with forcing a character to see the gray area between keeping the rules and breaking them.

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  15. I found these answers to be both revealing and intellegent. I enjoyed reading them.

    ~ Wendy

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  16. Jesus broke many "man-made" religious rules,but He kept God's word. If man's law goes against God's say-so, then no, don't break God's rule. But if God law goes against a man's rule, yes it's okay to follow God instead. For non-spiritual rules, it depends on the circumstance and reason. Whoa, that was kind'a deep, huh?
    Blessings

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  17. I believe rules are valuable in many ways. But in a nutshell, they are often designed to simplify things. If we look at a rule as immovable, then we see in black and white. But rules are also imperfect and constantly changing. Even many things some believe to be rules from the Bible are interpreted different ways by different people simply because we're human and have an imperfect understanding.

    I've witnessed many rules in my life that were necessary to be broken. Often times rules are oppressive to certain people. They're created as a one-size-fits-all approach to life because their purpose is often to simplify, not to approach each situation and consider the circumstances and needs. Someone already mentioned rules that kept races separate. Thank goodness someone was strong enough to question that rule. Many women I know are taking charge of their birthing rights--I had to fire my obstetrician in the last couple weeks of my pregnancy because he was attempting to force me into a c-section. We moved to a home birth in the last couple weeks--breaking a rule by driving across two state lines in the middle of the night after my water broke. Did I say oppressive?

    Great question! I'm enjoying reading other responses, too!

    ~Shaye

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