I'm not sure why, but Isaiah (my son) has recently be showing a lot of disobedient behavior. I'm not sure if it is a "phase" or if he is beginning to test the limits we have placed on him. Now, don't get me wrong, he is great most of the time, but there are a few things that we just will NOT allow to slide.
For example, last week he told me that he wanted to take a blanket and stuffed animal to school with him for nap time. I thought to myself, "A blanket maybe, but a stuffed animal?" So I asked him "Isaiah, did your teacher tell you that you could bring a stuffed animal, or do you just want to?" He insisted that she had said they could, so I told him plainly: "We'll take it, but I will go with you and ask your teacher. If she says she didn't say you could bring it and you have lied to me, you will be in trouble. Are you sure she said you could bring a stuffed animal?" He still persisted that it was ok.
As we entered his classroom, I asked again if he was sure. The reason I was being so cautious is because lying was something he had started doing. This was behavior that is not tolerated. It is always punished. He still persisted that it was allowed. I asked the teacher if it was allowed and sure enough she informed me that a stuffed animal was not allowed. I looked down at my son and he looked back up with a half scared, half mad face. I excused us from his teacher and told him to follow me. He did, although it was slowly. We walked down the hall a few feet to the bathroom. I walked to the last stall and turned around to see Isaiah very slowly walking toward me. He had already started crying, his bottom lip protruding out from his upper lip.
As I watched him walk to me, I remembered that I had walked that walk with my dad as well. When I knew I had done wrong and knew discipline was coming. I have also walked that walk with God. Times that I was knowingly disobedient and did what I wanted to do instead of what God has commanded. Its a long walk to that last stall in the bathroom. It reminded me of this verse:
for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in. - Proverbs 3:12
I'm reminded of why my dad disciplined me, of why I discipline my son, and why God is still disciplining me when necessary. Because my dad loves me, I love my son, and God loves me.
May God discipline you when you need it. May you have to take that long walk. And may you learn not to have to take it again.
In Christ,
jon walton
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