“Back in the day,” the games you played at home were board games. There was even a game called “The Game of Life.” Before you could play this game, you had to read the rules because the “Game of Life” could only be played if you knew the rules.
Do you already see where this is going? Life runs on rules. I was once trying to point this out to a teenage girl whose parents wanted me to talk with her. At 14, her life seemed out of control. She was making bad grades, bad decisions, and bad friends. She was not totally uncooperative, but certainly did not understand what was to be gained from counseling.
I asked her, “Have you ever seen a car driving down a Texas highway on a hot day in August with its windows rolled down?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“Why are the windows down?” I asked.
“Their air conditioning is broken,” she answered.
“Why don’t they fix it?” I asked.
“They don’t have the money,” She answered.
Then I asked one more question, “Why don’t they have money?”
She didn’t know the answer, so let me answer. There are some who have bad luck, but for the great majority, that is not the real problem. The real problem is that we spend money on things and stuff and junk, then when an emergency arises, we are out of funds. That is a rule.
If you do not live on less than you earn, then when an emergency comes you will suffer the consequences. That is the rule!
Life has many more rules just like that. The wise person will take note of what these rules are. If they are wise they will remember them. If they are wise they will live by them. If they are really wise they will write them down.
Remember them or write them down, but you will live by them. Each of them is a life rule that brings success or failure. You will keep repeating the failures until you learn the rule and live by it.
Lonnie Davis