Can I get an "Amen! Halleluiah!"
Dear Mom & Dad,
I know you told me to wash the dishes, take out the garbage, clean my room, and do my homework. And I know you have said in the past that I'm not allow to eat any snacks right before dinner, and that I can't play video games after 8 o'clock. But lately this whole following-orders thing has become kinda boring and I don't really feel like you care. So, I just don't want to do it any more. And since you're always telling me to be myself, I figured it was time I stop trying to be who you want me to be, and make my own path in the world.
Sincerely,
Your favorite 8-year old
PS. I'm too tired and sick to make it to school this morning.
How would a good parent respond to a situation like this? Lay down the law perhaps? Show the kid who is really in charge? A great parent might even send the kid to school anyway to learn first hand the consequences of disobedience (including the whopping red "F" on that homework he sloughed off).
How you would deal with the situation is not my business. All I can tell you is how God has dealt with me, and how he has handled other such disobedient characters in the Bible. Ananias and Sapphira tell a fib and are struck dead. Lot's wife turns to see the destruction of her home and is turned into a pillar of salt. Uzzah touches the ark of God to keep it from falling and is struck dead. Jonah flees the Lord's commission and is caught in a violent storm and dragged to the bottom of the sea in a stinky, fish gullet. David counts his armies and God sends a plague to kill 70,000 people. The people of Israel turn to other gods over, and over, and over and God puts them under the sword, whip, famine and pestilence.
God is not mocked. Our Father disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12).
The 8-year old in the letter above met with some of the natural consequences of disobedience. After all, as parents and responsible adults we don't just make up rules for the fun of it. I told little Jimmy he couldn't play with the table saw because he "might get hurt." Pph haa hahaha! We give rules and instructions because we want our kids to be safe, healthy, respectful, and responsible. We want them to have a good future. God knows this.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)Obedience to your parents will result in long (and good) life because your parents want to teach you the best way to live. God was willing to back the command with a promise. He promotes obedience within a healthy child-to-parent relationship.
Who are we, then, to disobey and dishonor our perfect heavenly Father?
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)God is not mocked. The command is given. Obedience is called for. Should we obey, there will be positive consequences.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. (1 Peter 1:22)It is through obedience that our souls are purified. We wouldn't know what it truly meant to be holy unless God gave us examples (Old Testament priesthood, Jesus, and the lives of the saints) and directions (much of which can be found in scripture to set a baseline). He gives us a direction; he leads us like a good shepherd to green pastures and calm waters. We must follow. As we follow we discover more and more the holiness of God, and become more and more like him in his holiness.
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." ~The Apostle Paul
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