This story might sound familliar:
A young person was brought up in God’s Church, with very strict parents. It seemed that not only the parents but also every other adult in the church held the same rigid standards. And as this young adult began to mature, they became increasingly more cynical about the wonderful message of Christ. They began to doubt the very things the Church was founded upon, and was driven to the point of walking out the door of the church never to return. 

Other young people remained in the church, and today whenever anything is brought up from the pulpit, they grumble that the teachings are legalistic and oppressive.

Throughout the last few years I have come into contact with a whole generation of people that hold to this viewpoint. It is a problem of epidemic proportions. What a shame that the most precious message that has been given to humankind is looked upon with such contempt.

Who is to blame in a case like this?Is it the young person who was brought up in the church?Is it the strict parent or the overly rigid conservative? It is my understanding that we all have personal responsibility of our choices, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. But as the old saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20.” With that in mind, let's learn from the mistakes made in what I call, "The Age of Legalism."Let’s start by looking at a very profound verse of Scripture from Deuteronomy:

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever (Deuteronomy 5:29).

This is what God wanted for the children of Israel in the Old Testament, and this is the same thing that He longs for today. He wants a people that will obey Him all the time. But why does God want us to obey Him? Is it for His personal agenda as some sort of control freak?

The reason God wants us to obey Him is for our good, and the good of our children. To me this makes a huge difference in the way we teach others about the standards that God has given to us as a people. We can teach the standards like this: “Do this, and don’t do that.” But this really doesn’t have any power because to the logical mind it may not make sense. But, if we learn that at the very heart of every commandment lies God's true unselfish love for us, then obedience ceases to become a torturous chore, and becomes a reciprocal love between God and us. 

Just imagine what our church would be like if we internalized this simple principle. What would happen if we read a rebuke in the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy, and did not say, “That person was trying to cram the Bible and Ellen White down my throat.”

What if we said, “Lord, thank you for showing me this, I trust you, and I know that you have revealed it to me for my good, and the good of my children.” What a wonderful experience we would have with Jesus, if we look at every command of God through these lenses! Let’s look at a few more Bible texts that parallel what we saw in Deuteronomy 5.

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day (Deuteronomy 6:24).

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them (Jeremiah 32:39).