I have driven on many third world countries in my time. South Africa is one of these which I happen to often visit. Without fault every time I have been in a car at some stage of my visit I have had to experience the impact that the regular power cuts have on the traffic signals in this nation. I remember last time I was there when once again while having to endure along with everyone else another blackout, I noticed something that I had never seen before when I came to a non-working traffic light. - There is never an accident when the lights are not working whereas when they are working correctly there are plenty.
How can this be?
Well here is what my heart showed me.
When the lights are working people are completely unaware of the traffic rules which are meant to keep them safe, assuming that the traffic lights will somehow always keep everything under control. Yet these are the times when more people run red lights, go before the light is green, and naturally cause accidents. It is as if somehow something rises up from within them that drives them, no pun intended, to break the very rules that are meant to keep them safe.
Yet when the lights are not working and suddenly there are no rules or laws in play not only does the traffic flow better and more orderly, but people suddenly become aware of a different kind of safety and order that impacts their behavior in a way, that the rules and the laws when enforced from outside by a traffic light never do.
Some years back I also noticed this phenomenon in my own life as I started a racing driving career in the UK where I took up the challenge of driving single seater cars. I will never forget the first day I sat inside one of these missiles with wheels. The instructor told me to go out and do a series of test laps. He indicated that I was not allowed to take the engine above 6000 rpm. He said this would keep my speed sufficiently slow to make sure that if I made a mistake I would be ok.
As you can imagine the first thing I wanted to do was take this poetry of speed to its limits to see what it could do. Yet I obeyed forcefully as I didn’t want this to be my last time in the car. The next day as sat inside the car again the instructor looked at me with a smile as he announced that the limits were now removed and I was free to go as fast as I wanted.
I accelerated out of the pits faster than I can share with you. Yet as I entered the race track I began to notice something different after taking a few corners faster than normal. Suddenly something began to emerge from within me which I can only describe as an engine limiter. Here I was with no rules and an engine making noises as sweet as the philharmonic orchestra and yet somehow my temptations to break the rules had somehow left the building.
As I look back I can see the same principle and phenomena taking place as I witnessed while on the South African roads. This has led me to understand that when we focus on keeping the laws outside of us through our self effort, we will always end up frustrated, unaware, and in time develop a lifestyle that will render us lifeless. Not to mention get us in trouble as we will inevitably end up breaking a rule or three.
Yet, when we live from our hearts we suddenly become aware of an inner traffic light or rev limiter which is more than able to keep the laws and rules without us even trying. I believe these two pictures speak volumes and give us great insight as to why God told Adam not to bring the rules into the reality that he had within the Garden. He knew that as soon as he did his focus would suddenly be captured by what was outside of him instead of what was within him. This spiritual kidnapping would disable him as he would be forced to make it by obeying the rules which in time would lead him to frustration, failure, and death. Plain and simple, unlike many of us, God understood that every time we chose to engage directly with the rules we would break them. Which would then lead us to a never ending cycle being triggered where we would try over and over again while going around in circles. Much the same way Israel did for 40 years in the dessert and a hamster does as it runs inside his wheel.
During my years as a tennis coach to professional players I learnt that we empower over ourselves whatever we focus on. This is why I believe that this is the very reason why Yeshua never invited us to first observe or keep the law, but instead he encouraged us to first seek his Kingdom and our right standing through him. Once again he knew that if we chose the latter of these two then the former would take care of itself without us even trying to as it did on the South African roads and within a race track in the UK.
-pablo-