Now that our children are a little older, we gave them new rules about the Christmas tree this year. They could touch the ornaments on the tree, but they could not remove them. I have a few that they aren’t allowed to touch, and those are mostly up high anyway.
It’s worked out well. They’re very careful, most of the ornaments that they want to point at and enjoy are ones that are meaningful to them, and for the most part they aren’t breakable. Until this morning.
I had just reminded them of our rule. Do not remove the ornaments.
The next time I looked over [not five minutes later!], both David and Bethel had removed an ornament and were in the process of putting it in a new place.
I asked them what they were doing. Bethel explained that her ornament was stuck and needed fixing. David explained that his ornament was crooked and he was straightening it.
At that moment, I realized God had answered my prayer for ways to describe their actions biblically. How can I describe their disobedience biblically? They were leaning on their own understanding.
We do it, too. We disobey when we think we have a reason not to.
So I explained that they were obviously not intending to be rebellious. They had good reasons for disobeying.
I asked them, Were you deceived that your reason was better than obedience? They answered in the affirmative. I want them to understand that we often rebel with good intentions, because our hearts are prone to self-deception. I want them to know what it looks like to lean on their own understanding, and what it looks like to trust in God and obey. This is an important part of teaching them God’s Word.
Maybe tomorrow we’ll talk about King Saul.
How are you using Scripture to teach your children today? Pray with me, that God will show us ways we can use the things that happen to us every day to teach our children His Word. Rejoice with me, that God is answering our prayers as He said he would!
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