“In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”” Isaiah 22:12-13 ESV
Reflection: why do children disobey their parents?
Perhaps the most frustrating part of a parent’s role, is having to say “I told you so”. Having to repeat yourself over and over, and still the child does their own thing. Especially when the instruction you are giving is very important, to help the child, whether it is for their benefit or their protection. This is of course a universal truth, whether you are a parent, or any kind of leader. But, the question is, why do some listen while others don’t? What makes a child, or even an adult for that matter, ignore good instruction, good guidance or good advice? As if the parent, leader, manager, teacher, priest or even God doesn’t matter. They are determined on doing their own thing. Why?
Is the student more knowledgeable than the teacher? Is the child more experienced than the parent? Is man wiser than God?
We read a repeated phrase in the Bible, we can paraphrase to be something like “but they would not listen”. We can absolutely sense God’s frustration with His people, His children, where He gives instructions for their benefit, over and over, but they continue to ignore Him, continue to do their own thing, to go their own way. We have an example of this in our focus verses today, where the Lord God had called the people to mourn and weep, but instead they decided to party. Not just party, but really party to a point of saying something like “What does anything matter anyway, since tomorrow we will die. Let’s live it up while we can.” You can sense the defiance in them, doing the exact opposite of what God had told them.
So, what is a loving Father to do?
We read in Paul’s letter to the Romans, that at some point the Father lets defiant children have their way, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”Romans 1:24-25 ESV. And, he continues a bit later “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:28-32 ESV.
We might be reminded here of the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15, who was brought so low that he ate leftover food from the pigs in a foreign country. But keep in mind that it wasn’t his father who brought him there. Brought him low. It was his own, foolish decisions. He could have stayed with his father and his brother, enjoying all the benefits of his father’s house. But, he thought he knew better. So his loving father let him go, knowing full well that his son might never return. There is a point in parenting and in leadership where you cannot proceed any further with instruction. With guidance and advice. You have to let go, and hope that the child, or whoever, will come to their senses, hopefully before they damage themselves or others.
Fundamentally, the cause of defiance is pride, which is rooted in selfishness. This is why God hates pride. Because selfishness and pride blinds us. Prevents us from being humble so we can see. Prevents us from receiving advice and guidance. Prevents us from learning from those who are more knowledgeable, experienced and wiser than us. Including from God.
So where are you at? Prideful or Humble?
Do you tend to follow your own path, relying on your own knowledge, experience and wisdom? Or are you humble before the Lord, and your fellow man, able to grow? “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10 ESV