Good judgment

Once when we were at a restaurant, our son dropped food on his seat. My husband immediately told him, “Don’t eat it now,” but our son started to put the food in his mouth anyway.Then I jumped in to explain to him, “If Dad tells you not to do something, he tells you for a good reason.”

In a situation like that, when your child is about to do something harmful (or even just unsanitary!), it seems so obvious that your child should listen to your wisdom. After all, aren’t most parents well-versed in “germ patrol” from the time their newborn grows into a floor exploring three-month-old? So when our children don’t listen to our suggestions, it can be frustrating.

I imagine it is so much worse for God from His perspective. He gave us some solid rules to live by early on, and ever since we have been exploring every possible way to break those rules in defiance…just a like a child exploring boundaries with his or her parents. Yet I can imagine God saying patiently, “Hey, when I tell you not to do something, I’m telling you for a good reason.”

So what could God’s good reason be? Well, it depends on the rules we’re breaking. Are we honoring Him through our behavior, our use of our bodies, or our words?

I don’t enforce the rules in our home because I want to be a mean parent. I enforce rules to help protect my kids, and to teach them about life.

God didn’t give us rules because He wanted to be mean. He gave us rules because He is a loving God, and he knows what is best for us. I imagine He gets frustrated with me on a regular basis…but I’ll keep trying, because I know God’s rules are really His wisdom sprinkled with love.

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