Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property, and obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

A system of rules protects you, and the price of that protection is following the rules when they inconvenience you personally. This is easy to forget on the days you are the one being inconvenienced, because the protection is invisible and the cost is not. Every time you decide the rule should not apply to your particular case, you are taking a payout without the premium.

Think of the rule you routinely treat as optional, the small one you have decided does not really matter. Keep it this week without complaint. The point is not the rule itself; it is what your willingness to keep it holds up.