Sophisticated Disobedience

The kids were cleaning their rooms. Neither room was a disaster, so realistically it shouldn’t have taken too long for them to be cleaned.  Normally, the girls need constant supervision until the room is nearly clean. David usually turns on the music in his room and finishes first, without any help.

But today, he was emotional. He wanted Laurel to help him (something she sometimes does, and enjoys), and I had told her that she had to make her bed first. Several times I reminded him to get to work. When I came in to see how David was doing, he was sprawled on the floor, obviously moping.

What David, and Bethel as well, need to understand, is that disobedience isn’t just yelling no. We can rebel by lethargy and forgetfulness, too, even if we say we are going to obey. This is the passage I’m going to talk to David and Bethel about today while we’re driving to El Paso. I’m always wondering what questions to ask my children to teach, but Jesus already asked a good one that I’ll probably start with. I also want to see if they understand that the first son obeyed when he repented (i.e., repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of behavior).

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. Matthew 21:28-32

I’m interested that I started to write this post just thinking about how disobedience takes many forms. But in the process of thinking about it, I was reminded about this passage and decided to teach it to the kids. Once again, I’m demonstrated to myself that blogging is useful for me as I seek to teach my children God’s Word.