How to Break the Rules

If there’s one thing that frustrates me, it’s when rules get in my way. And if you’ve ever broken a rule yourself, then you know that not all of them are created equal. You’ve probably endured the consequences of breaking the wrong rules, and felt the relief or liberation from cutting the right corners.

I’m not talking about being a rebel without a cause though. While we typically associate breaking the rules with sin, that’s not always the case. What I want to talk about is breaking the right rules.

Jesus himself did this. Think about his encounter with the woman at the well. He shouldn’t have been associating with a Samaritan, and he shouldn’t have been alone with a woman. Yet not only did he break these cultural barriers, this was unexpectedly the scene that Jesus chose to first reveal himself as the Messiah.

That wasn’t the only time Jesus upset the status quo either. From healing on the Sabbath to forgiving people’s sins to overturning tables, Jesus challenged actions and beliefs by breaking their rules. So, how do we follow in his footsteps?

Break the Right Rules

My mind goes first to the American Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks refusing to vacate her seat on a bus, the Greensboro Four sitting obstinate in Woolworth’s, the Freedom Riders, the march from Selma to Montgomery, and on, and on, and on. Ordinary people broke the rules to show them to be unjust. Laws were broken publicly and strategically to show that they were wrong. 

Today, we can’t just break a rule because we don’t like it. We have to seek out the ones that get in the way of mission and are not serving useful purposes. Jesus wasn’t afraid to break a rule, but he was always trying to make a point when he did so.

Talk First

If you’ve seen the musical Hamilton, then you might remember that the first of their “ten duel commandments” is to demand satisfaction. Basically, don’t fight someone who might be persuaded by your point of view. One of the interesting things about Jesus’ ministry is that he debated quite a bit with the Pharisees. Usually we paint them as his arch nemesis, creating a painfully simplistic view of their interactions. Yet Jesus debated them for several purposes, one being that he was attempting to win them over. He was at least partially successful in that endeavor because we see Nicodemus breaking from the pack and giving credence to what Jesus has to say.

If you think there’s something wrong with the way your church or network does something, it might only take a conversation with the right person to make things right.

Understand Why the Rule Exists in the First Place

If you can’t understand the purpose of a rule, it won’t do you any good to break it. Rules are generally there to protect someone or something from a real or perceived threat. So you have to be careful not to cause a bigger mess in the quest toward liberation.

Muhammad Ali understood the laws he was up against. During the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the military but refused to enlist. Despite receiving a sentence of five years in prison, Ali was unwavering in his resolve because he understood why the draft was instituted and still disagreed with it. He’s famous for having said, “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”

The draft was meant as an emergency military measure but to Ali, drafts should be used in defense of the nation not to kill poor people half a world away and perpetuate a government’s poor treatment of racial minorities.

Maybe a rule was once necessary, but is now outdated. Maybe the rule is being abused. But if you don’t understand why it exists, you won’t be able to break it in a way that draws attention to its ineffectiveness.

Accept the Consequences

While all of the people I’ve used as examples understood the consequences of their actions, perhaps few understood them as well as Deitrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote The Cost of Discipleship. Under Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer was outspoken against Hitler and eventually was forbidden from publishing and speaking in public. That did not stop him from doing the right thing by breaking the rules. He became a courier for the German resistance and helped Jews escape to Switzerland. Unfortunately, his actions eventually caught up with him and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and hanged for acts of resistance. 

While we may not face death, breaking the rules almost always comes with consequences. If you want to make a change in this way, then you need to first understand what might happen if you follow through. Queen Vashti did the right thing by refusing to be objectified by a roomful of drunken politicians, and she was deposed for it. Her actions opened the door for Esther, but Vashti never reaped the benefits of her rebellion.

Break Strategically and Publicly

Breaking the rules doesn’t do any good if no one knows about it. Remember, at this stage, we’ve already talked to the powers that be and they’ve refused to listen. It’s not them you’re convincing.

Kathrine Switzer broke the rules in a very public way at the Boston Marathon in 1967. At this point in time, the marathon was exclusively for men and there was a widespread belief that women could not and should not be runners. They were viewed as too weak to undertake such a rigorous activity.

Switzer secretly joined the race, but once race managers discovered her participation, one ran out to disqualify her. He knocked Switzer’s trainer to the ground and unsuccessfully tried to rip her number off. Switzer finished the race, but the pictures taken of the assault sent reverberations throughout the country. Switzer not only proved that women could run long distances, her publicity helped pressure race organizers to eventually allow women to race.

Mission First

So, if you’re harboring some frustrations because mission isn’t happening, rest assured that you’re in good company. But don’t break through the red tape like a bull in a china shop. Slow down and think through those steps first:

1. Break the Right Rules
2. Talk First
3. Understand the Rules
4. Accept the Consequences
5. Break Strategically and Publicly