Rules and regulations—some are good, some are bad, but we need them to help us look and see where we are and where we are going. Most limit where we can go and what we can do, unless we have special permission or are authorized in some other way. Some set guidelines and goals for growth.

God, being God, knows what is best for His creation. He has set the rules and regulations because He knows what is best for us. He has also given us some rules that will help us as we strive to grow and be like Him. What are some of these rules?

1. Don’t neglect your prayer life. It is the breath to the soul. Luke 18:1 says, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, .. “

2. Don’t neglect your Bible. It is your sword for conquest, your hammer for construction and your guiding light for weary days. Hebrews 4:12 says that “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

3. Don’t neglect your body. It is the capital on which we do business for the rest of our lives. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” If our body is God's, should we not use it for His glory?

4. Don’t neglect your mind. What you put in is what you take out. Our minds are the channel for reaching up to God. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8–9, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy— meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

5. Don’t neglect to laugh! Solomon said in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”

6. Don’t neglect your influence or reputation. Many have come to Christ or been driven from Christ, by the influence of a Christian. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount says, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16)

7. Don’t neglect righteousness. Notice again what Solomon says in Proverbs 11:3–6, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.”

Why did I put these things in negative terms? Because we seem to understand that better. May we all do these things to be better, ever-growing Christians!