The little boy stood there on the path, facing his mother, hands on his hips. I don’t know what had happened, but when I got into earshot, I heard him angrily say, “No! I don’t need help.” The mother said something that I couldn’t quite hear, to which the boy stomped his foot angrily and replied, “I want to do it my way. I’m big now.”
The scene was cute to me as an observer, though probably not to the mom. I stifled a chuckle and walked on by. I don’t know what he wanted or if he was successful.
It’s not so cute when we get older. It’s even less so when we’re the petulant child, and God is the parent.
Now, more than likely, we’re not wearing oversized galoshes and physically stomping our feet, but our response to God is often defiance, rather than humble submission. Or, perhaps that’s just me, but I don’t think so.
The original sin was ignoring God’s commands. Israel wandered forty years in the desert for disobedience. Peter cut off the servant’s ear. The Scriptures are full of examples. If we all got our acts together the moment we believed, Paul’s letters might have read quite differently.
We want to follow our own hearts and wills. That seems like good sense, but our hearts are wicked, and our wills are sin-filled.
It’s why the psalmist says,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
In Deuteronomy 28-29, the Lord promises blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. That doesn’t mean that if we follow God and are obedient, all our dreams will come true. Someone once said that God is more interested in our holiness than our happiness.
Still, things will be better in our relationship with Him, no matter our circumstances, if we walk in obedience.
May we be more like Jesus and less like petulant children.
Be blessed
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
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