Thoughts Along the Way©
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
In my family I am famous (maybe infamous is the better word) for making one sided deals. At one time it got so bad that as soon as I would say, “I’ll make you a deal”, my children would say no and walk away. My deals went something like this: If you clean your room, I’ll get the garbage bag for you. My children have learned to make deals as well. The other day my son said, “Mom, if I do this thing that I should do but I don’t want to do, can I have the blue flannel sheets on my bed instead of the pink ones.” My response was, “No.” Tim was a bit startled but I then went on to explain. I said that he could have the blue sheets not because he did his part of the deal but because it was my joy to give him his desire. He still needed to do what he needed to do not as a negotiating point but because it was the right thing to do.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times that I have tried to negotiate with God. The deals get phrased both as “if You … then I will …” and “if I … then You have to ….” One of the sad aspects of this negotiating is that it makes God out to be an ogre who withholds good from His children until they have earned the right to be blessed. What a horribly wrong picture of my heavenly Father! He blesses me far more than I deserve. He even blesses me more than I ask. He is loving, kind, generous, merciful, compassionate and wise. The things that He withholds are for my good, not out of spite or stinginess.
A second terribly wrong cause of this negotiating is that I behave as though I am god. I think I have all of the answers and God, my heavenly Father, does not. What an incredibly arrogant view of who I am. I completely forget my corruptness, self-centeredness, and pride when I think that I have something to bring to God as a means of impressing Him. He knows exactly who I am, a fallen sinner in desperate need of grace. So the only acceptable thing that I can bring to God is a humble and contrite heart – this He will not reject.
Just as I desired to bless Tim not because of what he would do but because of our relationship of love, so God desires to bless His children not based on what they do but rather on whose they are. I expected Tim to do the right thing and God asks us to do what is right. The difference is that I expected Tim to do it on his own, while God knows that we cannot so He provides the power of the cross and the Holy Spirit to lead us and empower us.
Prayer: Father, forgive me for the multitude of times that I have tried to manipulate You into doing what I wanted. Forgive me for acting like I was god. Forgive my pride and arrogance and give me a humble heart that desires You more than it desires what I can get from You.
Thoughts Along the Way©
Let’s Make A Deal
Elaine Mehn
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
In my family I am famous (maybe infamous is the better word) for making one sided deals. At one time it got so bad that as soon as I would say, “I’ll make you a deal”, my children would say no and walk away. My deals went something like this: If you clean your room, I’ll get the garbage bag for you. My children have learned to make deals as well. The other day my son said, “Mom, if I do this thing that I should do but I don’t want to do, can I have the blue flannel sheets on my bed instead of the pink ones.” My response was, “No.” Tim was a bit startled but I then went on to explain. I said that he could have the blue sheets not because he did his part of the deal but because it was my joy to give him his desire. He still needed to do what he needed to do not as a negotiating point but because it was the right thing to do.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times that I have tried to negotiate with God. The deals get phrased both as “if You … then I will …” and “if I … then You have to ….” One of the sad aspects of this negotiating is that it makes God out to be an ogre who withholds good from His children until they have earned the right to be blessed. What a horribly wrong picture of my heavenly Father! He blesses me far more than I deserve. He even blesses me more than I ask. He is loving, kind, generous, merciful, compassionate and wise. The things that He withholds are for my good, not out of spite or stinginess.
A second terribly wrong cause of this negotiating is that I behave as though I am god. I think I have all of the answers and God, my heavenly Father, does not. What an incredibly arrogant view of who I am. I completely forget my corruptness, self-centeredness, and pride when I think that I have something to bring to God as a means of impressing Him. He knows exactly who I am, a fallen sinner in desperate need of grace. So the only acceptable thing that I can bring to God is a humble and contrite heart – this He will not reject.
Just as I desired to bless Tim not because of what he would do but because of our relationship of love, so God desires to bless His children not based on what they do but rather on whose they are. I expected Tim to do the right thing and God asks us to do what is right. The difference is that I expected Tim to do it on his own, while God knows that we cannot so He provides the power of the cross and the Holy Spirit to lead us and empower us.
Prayer: Father, forgive me for the multitude of times that I have tried to manipulate You into doing what I wanted. Forgive me for acting like I was god. Forgive my pride and arrogance and give me a humble heart that desires You more than it desires what I can get from You.