“Mom, the clothes dryer is not working. What should I do?, exclaimed the irritated husband to his wife, as he labored to dry the uniforms for his son’s soccer game. “The Instruction Manual is in the cupboard over the dryer; it will provide a guide to the solution of the problem,” his wife retorted. As there is with most manufacturered items, the clothes dryer came with the manufacturers’ instructions on how to set it up,  use it,  with some basic dos and don’ts added, including a section called Trouble Shooting as a help to solving problems.

There are very few items that do not have the maker’s instructions attached in one way or another to them. Even with those items that do not possess a specific instruction guide, one will know or learn the limits of their use. For example, one would know that a razor used to shave a man’s beard or the hair on a woman’s leg will not cut wood. The razor’s maker did not intend it to be an instrument for cutting wood. Similarly in almost all of life situations, the creator of an item had clearly defined uses in mind for the item.  Occasionally, but rarely, alternative uses might be made of an item, but in the end the maker expected his creation to be used according to the instructions which he provided and would disclaim any responsibility for any other use made of the item.

Creators have well defined purposes for their creations. In those instances where there does not exist a document of instruction, it is assumed that the users of the creation would quickly come to understand the principal uses of it. So it also with man and God.

Man is created by God and is designed to be reunited with him in the next life. Man is provided with a list of instructions for understanding the purpose and uses of his life.  Occasionally man will misplace and ignore these instructions. However, in order to achieve true happiness, he must rediscover, accept, and apply the maker’s instructions to his life. “Do good and avoid evil” is a basic tenet of God’s instructions. Fortunately God provides , within each of us, more details about His instructions through our reason and the teachings of His church.    J. Budziszewski in his book “What We Can’t Not Know” noted that “that law has been rightly defined as an ordinance of reason, for the common good, made by him who has care for the community, and promulgated.” God’s instructions are built into design of man and are part of man’s nature. His instructions are promulgated within each human. These instructions are commonly referred to as the Natural Law.  Man cannot claim ignorance to the moral law, the Natural Law of God; it is built into man’s very nature. Do good, avoid evil is a basic command which is supplemented by reason and the Church’s teachings. While man is free to ignore the instructions provided by his maker, he does so at his peril.

God’s laws are embedded in each one of us , not to control us, but rather to clearly show us the way to true happiness and union with him. They are man’s guideposts to true freedom and success.

For anyone interested in investigating in more detail the “maker’s instructions”, J. Budziszewski’s book, “What We Can’t Not Know”, is a very good, readable layman’s discussion of the Natural Law. Also worth reading is Frank Sheed’s work, “A Map of Life.” Both books are avialable on Amazon.com in paperback or as Kindle e-books.