I am the proud father of two young boys. While my kids are well-behaved and generally do what they are told, there have been times when we didn’t see eye to eye. One such occasion occurred when I began setting time limits on their computer screen time. I can remember the look on their faces as I told them that they would no longer be able to play video games all day. They were on summer break, and because school was out, they assumed that they would be able to play games from sunrise to sunset.

However, after I set my foot down and made this rule, my son asked me the most widely used one-worded question uttered by kids of all ages ”Why? Although it is a simple word, it can require a complex response. As I sat there looking at my son, I calmly explained to him the effects of playing video games too long. I explained that it could disrupt his sleep patterns and it can affect his behavior, and I explained the addictive nature of video games in general.

At that time, I didn’t understand it, but this conversation was a clear example of a policy and a principle. As a young student of the Bible, I learned that God’s Word has policies and principles. What I realized is that there are times when the Bible gives a policy, but we can mistake it for a principle. By misapplying policies and principles, the Bible can become a confusing set of instructions that may even seem contradictory at times. It is crucial that we understand Policy and Principle.

What is a Policy?

Policies are rules. These rules are generally specific in their instruction and may change with culture and times.

What is a Principle?

Principles are also rules. However, these rules are usually broad in their instructions and stand regardless of culture or times.

Now, let’s take what we know thus far, and let me see if you can determine what a policy and principle is using the experience I mentioned with my kids and their video games. When I told my sons that I was limiting their screen time, was this a principle or policy? If you answered policy, then you are correct. Remember, a policy is specific in nature and can change with time and place. There will come a day when I will allow him to play longer, but at his young age, the policy was necessary.

Now, you can see that when my son asked me “why, ” he was asking me for the principle. You see, every policy points to a principle behind it. My son, being the intelligent person that he is (who takes after his father), realized that this rule was a policy and wanted to understand the principle behind this new policy.

Policy and Principle in God’s Word

The Bible contains many policies and many principles. We would truly benefit if we could better differentiate between the two. So let’s begin by listing some examples of principles:

• Worshipping God – This is a universal rule. In other words, there is never a time when God would accept us worshipping a false god or Satan himself.
• Love – If a value were placed upon principles, I believe this would be God’s number one principle. God is love; therefore, it becomes a principle for us.
• Murder – While God expects us to defend ourselves, and there have been times Israel went to war, these are examples of necessary killings. Murder is the act of killing someone unlawfully, unprovoked, and unnecessarily. Again, there is a universal rule.

This study will not list every principle found in the Bible for obvious reasons, but hopefully you can now determine a principle when you come across one in Scripture. Once you understand the principles, you can better see policies in God’s Word. Now, let’s look at some verses that express policy:

Should women be prohibited from speaking in church?

Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 1 Corinthians 14:34

Was Paul giving us a universal rule? Remember, policies change with time and place. A study on the history of the Jewish culture around this time reveals that when attending church, the women would sit in a different location than that of their husbands. It appears to be that these women were disrupting the service by coming up and speaking to their husbands during the service, resulting in a commanded for women to be silent in church.

However, we see other places where women were permitted to speak: In Acts 12:13-14, Rhoda interrupted a prayer meeting to declare Peter was at the door. Priscilla had church at her house (Rom 16:3-5). Would Priscilla be banned from speaking in her own home? The prophetess Anna praised God in the temple. Luke 2:36-38 While this rule is not enforced today in our western societies, we may create other policies that align more with our current situation. For example, if Paul were writing this letter today, he may say, “Kids are commanded to stay off their cell phones in church.” Can you think of other policies that may apply to your church? These are just a few cases, but from these examples, we can be assured that Paul was stating a policy. The principle behind this policy was most likely reverence for God’s House.

Let’s look at another example:

Are we commanded not to shave?

God seemed to give an odd command when He told the Children of Israel that they were not to “make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh.” (Leviticus 21:5)Are we sinning if we shave our heads bald? Is God displeased when we shave the edges of our beards? Understanding the history and context of this verse helps us understand that the Pagan nations often had practices similar to these. God’s principle for His people was always to distinguish the holy from the profane (Leviticus 10:10). God always wanted His people to look different from the other nations. How can God’s people turn the Pagans to God if they looked and acted like Pagans? This was a policy. And even though it is no longer forbidden to shave our heads, we still must follow the principle behind this policy by abstaining from looking like the world.

If God were giving this command today, He might forbid Christians from sagging their pants or getting tattoos. Remember, Christ wants His Church to look different, because our ultimate goal is to help win souls for the Lord.

Homework: I challenge you to continue studying God’s Word. Find five policies and track them back to their principles. God’s Word is not outdated. We simply must understand how its principles apply to our current situation.