By: Lauren Beckner
Galatians 2:18
"For if I build again the things which I destroyed,
I make myself a transgressor."
Being a parent is exhausting. I was just talking with a friend about that this afternoon. Sometimes I feel like raising a child is one step forward, three steps back. Or, as a sign in my aunt's kitchen says, "Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken." We love our children without condition, but sometimes they just make us tired!
This afternoon I was busy in the kitchen when I saw my 20-month-old headed for the dog food container. She clearly knows this is off limits. I cautioned her, "Savannah, no ma'am. That is for the dog, not you. Do NOT touch it." She stopped and weighed her options. Obedience lost out. She grabbed a handful of dog food and dumped it into the water bowl. Gross. I sighed and stopped what I was doing and went to correct her. I asked her to look at me, and she refused. She knew she was wrong. She got a spanking for choosing to blatantly disobey.
I went back to cooking and reflected on her behavior. I thought to myself… that was so bad… she knows better! We'd been over obedience several times and I know she grasps the concept, which she demonstrated by refusing to make eye contact after she had disobeyed. I was frustrated. And then my thoughts were directed inward.
How often do I model that behavior in my own life? I've grown up under Christian instruction. How often do I know the right thing to do… and rebel against it? Far too often, I'm ashamed to admit. I really have no excuse for it. Sometimes I wonder how God feels. Does He look at me and think, "Okay Lauren, I know you get it. Now align your life with what you know." But instead, I stomp my foot and try to go my own way. Its so juvenile…so ignorant…so senseless.
Obedience is a simple thing. All I have to do is know what I know, and act on it. Why do I make it so complicated?! It would be so much easier to just go back to the basics and know… then live… then share. So clear…so direct… no excuses.
We are commanded to obey when we love Christ.
Know. Live. Share.
"For if I build again the things which I destroyed,
I make myself a transgressor."
Being a parent is exhausting. I was just talking with a friend about that this afternoon. Sometimes I feel like raising a child is one step forward, three steps back. Or, as a sign in my aunt's kitchen says, "Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken." We love our children without condition, but sometimes they just make us tired!
This afternoon I was busy in the kitchen when I saw my 20-month-old headed for the dog food container. She clearly knows this is off limits. I cautioned her, "Savannah, no ma'am. That is for the dog, not you. Do NOT touch it." She stopped and weighed her options. Obedience lost out. She grabbed a handful of dog food and dumped it into the water bowl. Gross. I sighed and stopped what I was doing and went to correct her. I asked her to look at me, and she refused. She knew she was wrong. She got a spanking for choosing to blatantly disobey.
I went back to cooking and reflected on her behavior. I thought to myself… that was so bad… she knows better! We'd been over obedience several times and I know she grasps the concept, which she demonstrated by refusing to make eye contact after she had disobeyed. I was frustrated. And then my thoughts were directed inward.
How often do I model that behavior in my own life? I've grown up under Christian instruction. How often do I know the right thing to do… and rebel against it? Far too often, I'm ashamed to admit. I really have no excuse for it. Sometimes I wonder how God feels. Does He look at me and think, "Okay Lauren, I know you get it. Now align your life with what you know." But instead, I stomp my foot and try to go my own way. Its so juvenile…so ignorant…so senseless.
Obedience is a simple thing. All I have to do is know what I know, and act on it. Why do I make it so complicated?! It would be so much easier to just go back to the basics and know… then live… then share. So clear…so direct… no excuses.
We are commanded to obey when we love Christ.
Know. Live. Share.
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