Posts tagged parenting
Bible in a Year – Day 36: TMI
Feb 5th
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 14 & 15
Yuck! I imagine someone who has never read the Bible before picking up the book and flipping over to Leviticus 15. The first words they read: “Discharges Causing Uncleanness.” Lovely.
Today’s reading is all about skin diseases, discharges and menstrual cycles – not really the super-spiritual stuff that comes to mind for most people when they think about reading the Bible. And yet, as we’ve already discussed, these were very important instructions for the health of the people of Israel. And we get the “health” side of it, but what is up with all the spiritual stuff? You know, the examination by the priest and the blood and the sacrifices. Why didn’t God just give a solid, scientific explanation about how diseases could be spread through bodily fluids or how mold infects a house and causes sickness and leave it at that? Wouldn’t the people listen?
Well, the short answer is, “probably not”. Like I mentioned before, God is dealing with people who don’t have a grid for all the scientific stuff. They don’t speak that language. However, the language that they do speak is the language of being clean or unclean – presentable before God. These are people who fear God and who are willing to do what he says.
Think of it this way: Why does a 3 year old brush his teeth? Is it because of the lessons he has learned about plaque and gingivitis? Is it because he has a deep desire to avoid developing cavities? Or is it because his mommy told him that if he didn’t brush his teeth, he was going to be in trouble. (Insert your own parenting paradigm here, but I got spankings!) Now, was there anything about that child not brushing his teeth that one night that would cause any harm or anguish whatsoever for the parent? No. In fact, it would have been way easier for the parent to just send the child to bed without brushing his teeth. And so, the “punishment” doesn’t really seem to fit the “crime” here.
And so it was with Israel. God required spiritual cleansing rituals for physical cleanliness. Why? Because that was what the people of Israel understood. It was their daddy saying, “If you don’t wash yourself clean, you’ll have to go to time out.” That is why, as we progress through the Bible, we’ll see that the regulations loosen up a little. Again, it’s not because God has changed, but because he is able to relate to us differently.
I am 33 years old. I still have a relationship with my mom and dad, but if I didn’t brush my teeth, they wouldn’t spank me. They wouldn’t put me in time out. They probably wouldn’t even give me any sort of corrective word. Why? Because they relate to me in a different way now than when I was 3 years old. There isn’t a need to attach a big punishment to a small offense because I am now aware of the short-term and long-term consequences of failing to maintain my personal hygiene. That is why, even though there’s no threat of spanking, I brush my teeth every day.
Maybe I’m oversimplifying things, but I can’t help but think that the logic God has placed in parents as they raise their children is the same kind of logic he used while “raising” his people. Hopefully, we’re continuing to mature. And hopefully, we’ve learned a few things along the way.
Lessons from Lucy – Ep. 5
Mar 29th
When it comes to kids, there are certain constants – dirty diapers, middle of the night feedings, etc. One of those constants, doctor visits, struck us on Friday and taught me another lesson:
SOMETIMES, YOU’VE GOTTA TRUST YOUR GUT
You see, Lucy hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks. Maybe it was allergies or a cold, but whatever the reason, she was congested, sneezing, coughing, and generally not feeling well. We discussed it with the doctor a couple of weeks ago and he told us to spray saline into her nose and to use what I affectionately call “The Sucker” to suck out all the juicy stuff, which we did. But something told us that there was more than just some nasal congestion.
As Lucy’s cough got worse, we became more and more convinced that there was something more than just a cold. When she began sleeping less and eating less, we decided to take her back to the doctor. So, on Friday, Melody took her in and guess what? Double ear infections!
Now, a few days and several doses of Amoxicillin later, Lucy is almost completely back to her old self. At the same time, Melody and I are emboldened as parents. We know our little girl and we know when there’s something wrong with her.
As I consider this fact, the pastor in me wants to say “And God knows us, even better than we know ourselves”. That’s true, but I think there’s another lesson here. It is this: For people who are actually following Jesus – people who are devoted to a relationship with God – it’s OK to just trust your gut sometimes. In other words, if you know God, stop waiting around for him to tell you what to do and, instead, follow your gut (heart, spirit, or whatever you choose to call it) and do the thing you know you should do.
Fear of the unknown can be paralyzing, especially when it comes to God. For people who view God as a stern disciplinarian, not knowing exactly what he wants you do to can freeze you in your tracks. Even people who know God as one full of grace and mercy can become like statues when faced with a decision. But the bottom line is that if we are in a relationship with him, then we already know a lot about him and about the kinds of decisions he would make.
Sometimes, we just have to trust our gut and move forward. If he wants us to do something else, he’ll certainly let us know.
