I've maintained a tropical marine aquarium for most of the last 36 years. I have derived a huge amount of enjoyment from the hobby, even though I haven't had the resources to invest in equipment, corals and invertebrates.

There are two basic rules in fish-keeping:

1. Water quality. Monitor the chemical parameters and do regular water changes.

2. Introduce new fish slowly. You don't just empty the bag of new fish and plonk them into the tank. You have to slowly transfer water from the tank into the bag over a period of about an hour or more. Eventually, when the fish are used to the different water composition you may introduce them into the tank.

So yesterday morning I was in Warners Bay and I bought a couple of damsel fish. I was tempted by the blue tangs but they cost $70 each and I wasn't prepared to  rick that much cash. The fish I bought were $12.50 each and damsels are reasonably tough.

We arrived home at 5.30 and in the pressure of unpacking and getting ready for my cell group I decided to ignore Rule 2. I let hem sit in the bag in the tank for a while and fed the prior inhabitants. Then I introduced them to the tank. They seemed happy enough, even eating. Within an hour one was dead and by the end of the evening the other one had joined it.

Ignoring the rules comes at a big price.

We live in a culture increasingly marked by lawlessness and rebellion. Whether it is drunken violence in Kings Cross, unruly and disrespectful behaviour in school or swearing at strangers in the street there is an increasing element of people just wanting to do what they want to do. The idea that there is a better way, a more civilised way, a more respectful way is just right out of people's thinking.

Here's the thing- if you disobey the rules you will pay a price. Drive too fast and there will be a price. Swear at the boss and there will be a price. Bash a stranger and there will be a price. Ignore God and there will be a price.

Nobody can force you to do anything, but break the rules and eventually there will be a price.

For me it cost $25 to ignore Rule 2. Others pay a life in prison, a life destroyed in a car accident…