WILLIAM J. FINNIGAN The maker provides an instruction manual

It dawned on me one day that every sport I know has some kind of referee, umpire or judge. Whether it be football, baseball, tennis or skateboarding, there are certain rules that must be maintained and enforced.
I recently watched a pro tennis match that was riddled with loud calls from the line judges who kept the game in line. So it was in a recent Ohio State game, where all kinds of penalties were imposed upon football players who broke the rules. In fact, the infringement of those rules not only hurt the individual player but also affected the whole team.
As a boy I was constantly faced with rules, whether at home or at school. I thought that someone was always out to get me and keep me from having a good time. Why couldn't I just do it my way? But I learned over the years that wholesome laws liberated my activity rather than cramping it. Keeping rules at home and school gave me favor with my parents and teachers that disobedience failed to produce.
Staying in line
For instance, lining up in single file to move from class to the gym made for a smooth transition. But when any of us refused to stay in line, the whole class was detained and upset. Not only that, but the disobedient student was met with the teacher's dismay and knew that judgment day was ahead! His actions induced the teacher's frown when he could have had her smile. The disobedience was costly. Breaking rules has such an innocent and simple beginning, but what a person sows, he reaps.
One of the travesties of the evolutionary theory is the absence of moral principles or rules. If we evolved over millions of years from lower forms of existence, then who are we, really? Do we simply operate by instinct, as animals do?
Why do we know, for instance, that it's wrong to run off with another person's wife or husband? What's all the concern about crime and law enforcement? In the animal kingdom there's really no such thing as a kangaroo court. Animals are not subject to the same code of ethics as we humans.
Guide to go by
Is it any wonder that our society is chaotic and confused when we have no modus operandi or standard of conduct? Thankfully, there is. Someone way ahead of us, who like any manufacturer gave us a manual to go with his product. He made man from "the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).
That "breath of life" is more than the ability to breathe. It includes our conscience (or warning light of the soul), along with spiritual understanding (or capacity to know God). Ironically, we are fussing today about the visibility (or existence) of the Ten Commandments, while our nation crumbles morally right before our eyes! These precepts rightly reflect the character of this God of the Bible and have been the very foundation of our judicial system. In fact, many of us seasoned citizens actually learned them in public school!
No amount of prosperity will save our nation if CEOs and accountants don't operate by the laws of economics. What hope is there for a society where even judges and politicians refuse to play by the rules? Not to mention the rise of religious scandal where clergymen have likewise denied or, at best, have compromised the precepts of God's Law. We must get back to basics if we are to survive this moral holocaust.
First textbook
The Bible was the first textbook in early American schools, as characterized by the McGuffey Reader of local fame. Somehow we must return to the precepts that establish the dignity and purpose of mankind. Any other route can lead only to further demoralization and eventual disaster for our great society.
XWilliam J. Finnigan, who has a doctorate in ministry, is a Bible instructor at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley.