Skip to main content

Because He Said So

I wish there was a way to spell the response I get from my children when I confront them on disobedience. The grunt that comes from them is best visualized with shoulders shrugged and eyes looking anywhere but me. It most closely resembles the phrase ‘I don’t know’, but it is like all the vowels have been removed.

I ask why questions a lot. Why did you do that? Why did you think that was okay? Why, God, why? When asked of my children, I normally receive the aforementioned, guttural, non-vowel response.

It’s difficult for me because I don’t see a lot of gray in the commands I give to my children. Putting your clothes in the hamper does not mean putting them somewhere else. Brushing your teeth does not mean lying down on the bathroom floor. And being nice to your siblings will never involve weapons.

In the first chapter of Mark, we find Jesus healing a leper. Unlike other times that Jesus did this, when all He expected was a simple thanks, this time He asks the cured leper to do a few things. “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them” (Mark 1:44). This seems pretty straightforward. Keep your mouth shut and go offer some sacrifices.

“Instead, he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news” (Mark 1:45). Okay, I get it. You get miraculously cured by someone and you might be tempted to share this great news. Normally I would be all for that. But when the guy who just cured you says not to, especially when it is THE GUY, I would encourage listening to what He has to say. If for no other reason, then because He just healed you and He asked you nicely.

This leper’s disobedience caused problems for Jesus, namely that He was no longer able to walk freely in the open without receiving rock-star like clamoring for His attention and time. When we disobey God, it has detrimental effects as well.
My children avoid my gaze when they have done wrong. I imagine it will be hard for us to look at God if we have done wrong as well. Perhaps we can avoid excuses and simply do what God tells us to do. Somehow it seems like a better solution than mumbling unrecognizable phrases.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his ...
Post a Comment
Read more