Been Sick...

I haven't posted for a while because I have been ill... Really, I have been too tired to even think about things to post. I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry because it hurt to breathe. (Yeah, I know... I need to quit being a cry baby. But I was really, really sick.)

Anyway, I was thinking about things that bring us comfort when we are sick, and reminiscing about my youth. I don't know about your mom, but my mom always made me feel better when she was worried about me being ill. There is just something about that cold hand feeling my head for a fever, or her waking me up out of a dead sleep (that I finally was able to reach) to check my temp that made me feel that she loved me. And she always made my favorite soup...

But then I grew up, and momma wasn't able to be there all the time. That just made all the times I was ill even worse. No one is a good substitute for Momma, except Jesus. I could say a lot of things here about the goodness of God, but there is nothing so comforting as knowing that He cares for us. No matter what it is that we are going through, He cares. You can always call on Him, and He will always answer your prayer because He cares.

He loves us like a father, nurtures us like a mother, cares for us like a brother. Is there anyone who can compare to God?

I don't think so.

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

But Everyone Else Is Doing It....

Do you remember those iconic words? The words we uttered when we didn't get the answer we wanted from our parents and we really wanted to participate in that one thing that would have made us like everyone else? My mother's response to that phrase, "But everyone else is doing it/going there/has one", was quite simple... She said, "No means no."

Except for a few languages out there, the word "no" means the same as it does here in the USA. It is a denial of permission, the opposite of "yes", and a refusal. So simple a child could understand its meaning, right? Hardly. Even adults have a hard time accepting the answer of "no".

Everyone Else is...

When we first don't get the answer we seek, we try to bring the rest of humanity in on it. Everyone else has a car. Everyone else has an IPOD. Everyone else has a swimming pool. Everyone else gets to go to concerts.

The implied meaning is that everyone else gets to have or do something but you. Furthermore, the implication is adjusted to mean that whomever is denying you the opportunity to join in is being cruelly unfair. This implied meaning does not take into account the reason behind the with holding of permission. I mean, there is a reason you (we) are (were) told "no" in the first place. What that reason happens to be is often ignored because we, as the injured and unfairly treated individual, are focused on the unfairness of it all.

I mean, it is soooo unfair that Cathy has a television with TiVo in her own bedroom, and I cannot have a television at all. My parents just don't understand how important it is for me to have one. It only costs a little bit, not much. They could charge it on the Master Card and I would work it off... Its just not fair.

What we do not take into consideration is that there is usually a reason behind our parents' seeming unfairness.

Money

Money is a huge consideration. You have to have it to live, and there are more important things to spend it on when you have limited supplies. Its rather silly to spend your last dollar on something that could very likely mean starving to death.

Linked with money is that all powerful credit card. Today we seem to think that if the bank account is empty, we can charge it. We don't take into account the cost of that charge. You are going to end up paying more for your charge on the credit card than you are if you pay it in cash.
Credit card bills when you have no money to pay them are not fun.

Responcibility

Not everyone is responcible enough to have a television in their bedroom. If I had had one as a kid/teen, I probably would have had an even greater excuse not to go to sleep until after midnight thirty (really late in country terms). So what if I hadn't done my homework... there are lots of things to watch on that television to distract me until its too late to try.

Along with responcibility is content. What kind of things are you going to allow yourself to view in that there television? Would you just watch the news and cartoons? Would the cartoons you choose to watch be what you should be viewing? Is there any reason to watch reality tv? Not every thing on television is age appropriate, or morally acceptable. Would you really watch that show if your parents were in the room with you?


Danger!

Could you put yourself in danger by having that? If not physical danger, what about spiritual danger. Parents who are watching out for danger refuse us things because they could lead us to harm, injury, or death. That harm, injury, or death does not have to be physical. Spiritual harm, injury, and death are just as devistating as their physical counterpart.


Israel

I Samuel 8 (click text for passage)

In the Bible we are told that even though God set up a Theocracy in Israel, the Israelites wanted an earthly king. They didn't want a king because it would be better, or because it would stop fighting and misunderstanding between the tribes, there were judges and the prophets for that. No, the Bible tells us that Israel wanted a king because everyone else had a king.

They were worried that there would be no one after Samuel to lead them, so they demanded that Samuel set up a king over them in his stead. Samuel was appauled. God was the King of Israel. All things eminated from God to the people of Israel as long as they obeyed His ways. Had he not provided them a way out of Egypt, an escape from tyranny? Had not God provided them with food and water, and leaders, and land? Why insult God by demanding a king?

The people would not listen to Samuel on this, however. They had used that trump card of "Every one else has a King", and had mulishly stuck out their lips and refused to take no for an answer. So when Samuel took the matter to God, He allowed them to have what they were asking for. But he gave them a warning.

Choices have Consequinces

Because Israel did not heed Samuel's warning, they became enslaved to their human leader. The model that God had set for Israel's government was forsaken, and His people enslaved themselves for the chance to be led like everyone else. They got wars, taxes, and a whole lot of corruption in the "King" package. Things God did not intend them to go through, or experience. They also got ungodly leaders who led them further astray from God and His mercy than would have happened had they listened to Samuel and forgot the "King" thing.

Our choices have consequinces also. What we choose to do or not do affects the rest of our lives. When we are faced with that iconic phrase of "everyone else..." we need to stop and look at it more closely. If God, or our pastor, or our parents are saying "no", there is a reason for it. Rather than be like Baalam and Israel and push ahead inspite of hearing that refusal of permission, we need to think about why that "no" is being said in the first place. Because if we do, we could end up like Israel, and experience a whole lot of trouble and trials than we would have if we had listened and accepted "no" as an answer.