I Don't Know How That Happened

J

ust inside the backdoor of my parents' home hangs a set of house rules. The rules are simple, straightforward, and few, just the way good rules should be.  A quick perusal of the list indicates the type of behavior that is expected from those living in the house.  No one reading this list has any doubt of what he can and cannot do.  There are no suggestions on the list, only specific does and don'ts.

As I read that list recently, it brought back several moments from my childhood.  Like the list, my parents had few rules, but the ones they had, were simple, straightforward, and to the point.  I don't remember mom ever suggesting I pick up my clothes and I don't ever recall dad suggesting I be in at a certain hour.  They both stated exactly what they meant so there would be no confusion.

As a growing boy, however, I decided that the rules should be tested.  After all, that's exactly what rules are for, right?  We lived only three houses down from my dad's funeral home.  We could see it from our backyard and would walk by it on our way to the neighborhood candy store.  My dad had some very precise rules about playing around the funeral home, especially when a funeral service was being conducted in the chapel.  Under no circumstances was I to go near the place!

Now, one of my favorite things to do was to climb behind the wheel of the hearse and pretend to be driving.  When they weren't busy, my dad used to let me climb in and hold the wheel.  However, I had been told never to get into the vehicle unattended and under no circumstances was I to play with the siren!  Yes, the hearse had a siren.  Before the advent of the local rescue squads, funeral homes ran ambulance service for their communities.

Now, you know what happened one day, don't you?  I was around three or four years old.  I went up to the funeral home and climbed into one of the hearses.  It felt really neat to be behind the wheel, pretending to be an ambulance driver.  All of a sudden, I spied the siren button.  I knew I shouldn't, but I just had to do it.  I pushed the button and the siren sounded.  There just happened to be a funeral service in progress.  The back door of the funeral home opened and my dad came out.  I crouched down in the seat, thinking he'd have no idea where the sound came from!  I heard him approaching, and when he opened the door, I just looked at him and said, "I don't know what happened.  I was just sitting here and it went off!"  Then my dad went off, and I got a much-deserved spanking. 

Later in life, I learned I wasn't the only one to give such an inadequate explanation for my actions.  Exodus 32:24 records Aaron's explanation to Moses for his creation of the golden calf in the wilderness of Sinai.  Look at Aaron's words, “And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”  Can't you just see Moses' face?  What a ridiculous explanation and inept excuse for his actions.  In essence, Aaron said, "The people just brought me their gold, I threw it into the fire, and presto, a golden calf emerged.  I have no earthly idea how that happened!"

Moses didn't buy it and God didn't either.  In fact, just after this event, Moses went back to the mountain to intercede on the people's behalf.  However, we must understand something about Aaron's statement.  There is something we need to see because it applies to all of us on a daily basis.  It concerns the decisions we make and how we arrive at them.

The making of the golden calf was a terrible event in Israel's history.  In blatant defiance of God's laws, they constructed for themselves a graven image and worshiped it.  However, the decision to make a calf of gold was not sudden, but involved several smaller decisions along the way.  Almost from the outset, the people mumbled against Moses, complaining he had led them out into the desert to die.  At every turn they continually questioned God and tried his patience. He performed miracles and they doubted.  He fed them, and they complained.  He protected them, and they rejected him. 

The golden calf was the result of smaller decisions made all along the trail to Sinai.  Even after God became angry with them over this incident, they continued to focus on everything other than God's provision and plan for them.  Eventually, they wandered in the desert forty years until the generation that left Egypt died in the wilderness.

The same scenario still happens in the life of today's Christian.  We get our eyes off God's plan for us, we become less and less content to live in his provision, and we begin to make decisions that take us out of his chosen path for us.  The decisions appear innocent at first and seem to have very few consequences.  However, the culmination of these small decisions leads to results that can be devastating to our relationship with God.

My dad punished me not only for blowing the siren that day, but for breaking several rules leading up to that decision.  I knew right from wrong, but with each small decision, the next one became easier to make until I was in well over my head.  Once caught, I, like Aaron, gave the most lame excuse possible, "I don't know how that happened!"  But I did know, and my dad knew as well.  It happened because I disobeyed.

God has set rules in place for us because he loves us.  They are for our good, to keep us close to him, and to nurture and grow us up to spiritual maturity.  Today as you go about your daily routine, pay close attention to the decisions you are making.  What may seem small and innocent by itself can lead to an unpleasant trip to the woodshed!!