Matthew is 10 years old and he is a very obedient young man with a precious heart for the Lord. However, he is very pokey! Getting ready for school in the mornings requires blasts of dynamite, lighting fires under his feet, showers of ice cold water and a bull horn. Well, not really, but I have considered all of these things at one time or another. Caleb and Joshua can get up, shower, brush their teeth, dress and eat breakfast, whereas Matthew is still sitting on the floor of the shower mumbling. Now, I must be honest, I kinda know where he gets it from. OK, so I really know where he gets it from. I HATE MORNINGS! I am trying and doing better. Raising young men, Matt and I want them to be disciplined and prompt. As a result of this goal, Matt has decided to enforce the morning routine a little more. The understanding is "if you are not at the table to eat by 6:50, you will be grounded." Wednesday morning Matt went to check on Matthew and he was sitting on his bed in his underwear and socks watching cartoons. (Stop gasping, yes we have a television in our child's room. It's either that or he plays playstation in the den. Uh NO!) Well, Matt grounded him from T.V., friends, video games and computer, lit that imaginary fire under his feet and hurried him along. When he came home that afternoon, he did his homework, read for 20 minutes in his book, had his quiet time with the Lord, helped me with some chores and then had nothing to do. (It was raining outside!) I had forgotten about the grounding, but Matthew reminded me. I suggested that since he couldn't play video games, that he go and sit and watch Caleb play. His response was, "Well, daddy said that I was grounded from watching T.V. and since Caleb's games show up on the television, I feel that I would be disobeying daddy because technically that is watching a T.V." Well didn't I feel like the serpent that said, "Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden." Matthew heard his father's words and he knew his father's heart and he chose to obey ALL the way, even when his father's eyes were not on him. He did not choose to justify and say "well, daddy said not to play video games, he did not say I could not watch them." He chose to stay as far away from evil and the appearance of evil as he could. He wanted to obey with a sincere heart out of love and respect for his earthly daddy and his heavenly Father. Do we do that? Do we obey ALL the way? Do we choose to do the right thing even when eyes are not on us? Do we justify getting as close to sin as we possibly can? Do we twist words and actions so that technically we have obeyed God, even though we know His heart and what He would really desire of us? "Lord Jesus, I pray that I would have a heart for obedience. Father may I know your word and know your heart and desire to obey you no matter what. God I pray that I would choose to obey you ALL the way."
Colossians 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."
Colossians 3:22 "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, and do it not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart andt reverence for the Lord."
John 14:23 "Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.'"
No comments:
Post a Comment