Friday, July 11, 2014

Road Kill No More

Read: Proverbs 1:7-9; Proverbs 15:20, 32


Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
                                                                                                             Proverbs 19:20


     There is a tree in my front yard that my son Jackson knows is the boundary that he is not allowed to cross. It is close enough to the road to give him plenty of space to play, but far enough away from the road that there is no danger of him being hit by a car. On one occasion he was driving his little car, and he crossed the boundary. I had just stepped into the house for a second and was only alerted that he was near the road when I heard a car honking out front. Let’s just say that he was handily punished for what he had done. At the time, he saw no reason why he couldn’t be near the road. He had never felt the pain of being hit by a car, and he had never seen anyone else get hit by a car. In his little mind, it probably made no sense why I would be so upset with him. He did not realize that I knew the dangers of the road that, as of yet, he had no clue about. He didn’t know that my anger and his punishment was not because I hated him, but because I loved him – a lot. I was doing it for his good.
     To a teenager, not running in the  road when there is heavy traffic may seem to be obvious. To a three-year-old, it isn’t, because he doesn’t have the experience or knowledge of the danger. Fast forward a few years to the correction you face as a teenager. Your parents may get on you for hanging out with the wrong friends, listening to the wrong type of music, or for spending too much time playing video games. You may get upset because you think they should not correct you for those things. However, just like a parent corrects a three-year-old for being too near the road because he understands the danger, your parents understand dangers that you may not grasp yet. Jackson did not understand why I did not want him going near the road, but he knew I was displeased when he did. He also knew that he didn’t want to face my displeasure or his punishment again.
     A couple of years have passed, and, now that Jackson understands the dangers involved with a road, it all makes sense to him. Someday, all the punishment and correction your parents have given you will make sense. They have been where you are, and they know the dangers you face. For now, you must trust that they know best and that God has placed them in your life to guide you away from disasters that you may not even realize are looming over you.


Quote of the day: “A stiff neck usually supports an empty head.”



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