The End of My Experiment…The Beginning of a New Way of Life

Well, July is over and my experiment of living the 3 simple rules and reflecting upon that experience draws to a close also. This will conclude updates to this blog.

What did I learn? Here are the top TEN THINGS… 

1. My wife recognized — and commented upon — the changed behavior in me. Living by the rules is visible to others. 
2. Doing no harm is probably the most difficult rule to live out since harm can come in so many flavors.
3. Doing no harm to the environment was probably the area that I was LEAST conscious of prior to the experiment.
4. Maintaining my devotional life — thus “staying in love with God” — always suffers during the summer months due to my changed schedule. So while doing no harm is the hardest to live out, I probably failed the most at rule #3.
5. Everyone struggles with these rules. (I appreciate those of you who shared your struggles and experiences with me. You let me know I am not alone!)
6. My living by these rules was made more likely during my experiment because awareness of these rules was ever before me. How will I keep them fixed in my mind now that the series has ended?
7. I better understand Wesley’s genius in arranging people in small groups to keep the rules together. Now that the sermon series is over, I feel the need of a group of like-minded travelers to keep me accountable.
8. While conventional wisdom is that denominational loyalty per se is dead, people did seem to appreciate the connection with our Methodist heritage.
9. It’s sometimes said that you can be Methodist and believe anything. We showed that is not true.
10. There was some resistance to the word “rule.” But even with the negative connotation of that word, we saw that it is still all about GRACE!

Thanks for reading and making this journey with me. God’s grace and peace be with you.