“Why did Daddy punish me?” my 2-year-old asked. Each time she is punished, she asks the other parent about it, knowing full well why she was punished.
“I don’t know,” I said, having been on a different floor of the house. “Why did Daddy punish you?”
“Because I was dumpy,” she explained.
“You were grumpy?” I repeated. “You didn’t obey sweetly when Daddy asked you to obey?”
“Yes, I was dumpy,” she said.
I’m often amazed (although I shouldn’t be) how often my Bible reading intersects precisely with my daily life! Today’s reading from Exodus 16:
The sons of Israel said to them [Moses and Aaron], “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” . . . So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you grumble against us?” Moses said, “This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.“
Two reflections:
- First, I tend to look back at the “good times”–times of pleasure, physical blessing, financial “plenty”–and grumble. I need to recognize that my grumbling is really (as someone has said) the “highest form of cosmic treason” as I declare to the Lord of the Universe that I don’t like His plan for me.
- Second, I want to teach my children too that their grumbling is not against Mom and Dad (or their sibling) but against the God who loved them and demonstrated that love in the greatest way by sending His only Son to die on the Cross for them.
I will only be effective in teaching my children, as they see me model these truths in my own life.
Dear Father, help me see your love for me,
in times of plenty and in times of want.
Teach me not to be ‘dumpy’
but instead to cultivate a grateful spirit
for Your faithfulness and constant provision!