Don't throw fits!

Yesterday I blogged about how we need to be like little children.  Jesus loves the little children.  He tells us that if we are not like them, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  I HAVE little children and they are amazing, but I have to assume that little children back in the day didn’t throw public fits or kick and scream and want their way.  Proof is actually in the Bible – they didn’t have the media helping their kids learn to curse their parents all the time.  The punishment for going against your father and mother were harsh!  See Leviticus 20:9 “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.  He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.”

God wants us to be like the little children that he writes about in the Bible, not necessarily the kids that we see all the time around us now.  Some are very well behaved, but some just aren’t.  I can only assume that He wants us to follow the guidelines that the Bible lays out for children when following Him. 

It is so easy to throw a fit when you don’t get your way.  Look at a child when they throw their fits- they get attention from the person that they are seeking attention from, they a lot of times will get their way and if they don’t get their way, a lot of times (at least in our house as much as I hate to admit it) the parent will compromise and give a different reward for the end of fit throwing.   I hate dealing with fit throwing.  It drains me.  When my kids throw a fit it makes me want to run to my room, shut the door and turn on my MP3 player LOUD. 

How do we feel when our children throw a fit?  Do you feel defeated?  Drained?  Do you feel helpless?  Think really hard about it…  Now think about when we throw a fit for not getting our way from God – how does that make God feel?

The Bible tells us in the 10 Commandments to “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your god is giving you.”  (Exodus 20:12)   Later in that book, 21: 15 it says “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” 

Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise- that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

I can only imagine that God wants us to be like these little children.  We know the rules, we know the reasoning, we don’t have the excuse that we didn’t know any better.  We need to HONOR and OBEY our Heavenly Father- that it may go well with us…

So when God doesn’t give us our way – he doesn’t make things easy – he takes away something or someone that we loved and adored and never thought that we could live without- it would be easy to throw a fit- to curse God.  Instead though, know that God has something better in store for us. 

Remember, back when you were a kid, all you wanted was that fresh baked chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven.  It was warm, and the chocolate was melted just perfectly and, if your mom made then just right the center was still pretty gooey.  You helped mix up the batter, and spoon the heaping cookies onto the cookie sheet.  You made one extra-large because you knew that YOU were going to take that one.  You smelled them baking for the 10 or more minutes they were in the oven.  When they came out, it was perfection.  Then your mom tells you – “and you can have one after dinner”.  WHAT!!!!  I have to wait until after dinner for this?  Your brain goes into fit mode- you throw a fit either by trying to manipulate the situation or by throwing yourself on the ground and kicking and screaming.  If your mom was anything like I am with my kids- if the fit is thrown, you wont get what you are throwing the fit about…  That chocolatey goodness will be taken away from you!

I knew, growing up, that my mom had my best interest at heart.  She knew that if I grabbed a cookie off the tray and shoved it into my mouth that I would burn my hand and my mouth.  She knew that cookies taste better after they have sat and cooled just a little bit.  She knew that if I ate one cookie, it may not be enough and I would want more and it would ruin my dinner plans and make me not want to eat.  So, instead of the vitamins that I need to help me grow big and strong, I would be getting sugar.  As a child, I didn’t know these things- all I knew was what I wanted and that I wanted it NOW.  But my mom and dad always had my best interest at heart. 

God always has our best interest.  We don’t want to be the toddler that is throwing a fit in the middle of Walmart (yeah those are sometimes my kids) to get our way.  We want to be the one that honors God in all that we do.  We want to be the child that people look at and say “I wish my child was that well behaved”.  We want to please the Lord and do His will.  He knows that the cookie might ruin our appetite or that maybe he was planning on getting us that “toy” for Christmas so I can’t have it now….  He knows what is best for us even if we think that we know better.  We just have to trust Him – the Bible tells us to continually:  Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”