Because I Said So!

T

he teenage years are anything but a joy ride for parents.  The darling little children who used to be so cute and sweet suddenly metamorphose into people hardly recognizable by their parents.  Their taste in clothes begins to change, their taste in music becomes more interesting, and the time they spend on the phone seems to increase daily.  In fact, the only people who receive phone calls are the kids and they call each other about everything, at any time of the day or night.

I remember these years very well.  They were challenging for both my parents and me.  The one thing I wanted most was to be independent, to do my own thing, to be my own person, and to make my own decisions.  This led, at times, to a contest between my mom and me.  She always won, by the way.  When she would tell me to do something, I would question it, wondering why I had to do what she told me.  The response I often got and liked the least was, “Because I said so!”  Although I didn’t know it then, she was teaching me a very important lesson.  That lesson was listening to and obeying those in authority.

That was a hard lesson for me to learn, not because my mom wasn’t a good teacher, but because I wasn’t a good student.  I wanted to believe I knew what was best for me when all along my parents were far wiser and more insightful than I.  If I had learned this lesson earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache and difficulty.  But part of learning is discipline and discipline is never fun or easy.

This is a lesson that spills over into our Christian lives as well.  We often find ourselves holding conversations with God about things happening around us.  We want an explanation for our situations or we want to know exactly why God requires us to face a certain trial or to do a certain task.  We also believe that we know what is best for us and we do our best to be independent, to exert our will above our Heavenly Father’s.  But we learn, through much heartache and difficulty, that He is much wiser and more insightful than we.  He is the parent, we are the teenagers. 

In Deuteronomy 6, God addresses the Children of Israel before they cross over into the Promised Land.  He impresses upon them the importance of keeping His commands and teaching them to their children.  The commandments He gives serve to protect them, to preserve them, and to give them the means to live a life pleasing to God.  Deuteronomy 6:24 provides the reason behind God’s instructions.  This verse reads, “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.”

Notice Moses’ words here.  God gave them commands for them to obey!!!!  That’s the rub.  We are to listen to God’s voice and obey His leading because He says so, and for no other reason.  He knows what is best for us, He knows the road ahead, and He alone knows what we need to face all of life’s circumstances.  However, Moses continues by giving the result of following God’s commandments.  God’s decrees always give life.  Notice the closing part of this verse.  Obeying God’s commands insures prosperity and keeps us alive. Prosperity here does not mean hitting the jackpot.  Instead, it means the ability to continue living and to continue in the relationship we have with God.

So, the next time a teenager challenges your authority by asking why, simply say to them in all love, “Because I say so!”  Then, when you are alone with God, practice what you preach!