The freeways in Los Angeles are so big many of them have High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV lanes.

These are large, spacious lanes on the far left side of the highway that are usually wide open, and can only be used by vehicles with 2 or more passengers, Los Angeles being well-known for smog, and carpooling being a proven way to lower emissions. However, for anyone else who tries to use them, there's a very stiff fine.

When you're stuck in traffic on the highway, all alone in your car, sweating in the afternoon sun, glancing over at drivers in the HOV lanes, blissfully whizzing off to their destinations, it can be very tempting to find some way to use that lane.

And the cops have seen it all.

Drivers have used life-size, blow-up dolls.

One guy strapped into his passenger seat his St. Bernard.

A lone woman argued she could use the lane because she was pregnant.

The measures we will go to to get around laws we don't like are as extreme as they are legion.

And this Sunday in church we will hear reminders from God that, like those HOV laws, the Lord's rules are not given to annoy us, but to help us!

Think about it, when we set up our own rules around diet and exercise we're wanting to be more healthy and live longer.

They help us be free of disease and illness.

When we set up rules to pray, go to church, study our faith, and help others, we want to be more joyful and fulfilled.

They help us be free of guilt and selfishness.

God's rules are meant to free us to be good and to do good.

So we can't help but to ask ourselves:

So what rules are we skirting?

How are we being untrue to ourselves or to others in ways that may come back to bite us?

How are we rationalizing our rule-breaking?

In what ways is God trying to show us that doing things the right way is the best way?