In the last post on this series: "Are Your Children Obedient and Happy? Part 2-Divine Order)" I talked about Divine Order. God clearly shows us through His divine order how we should set our priorities.
As a godly women, wife and mother, our priorities in obedience are first to God, and then to our own husbands. I would like to talk more about attitude in obedience. This is something we will always need to examine in our hearts, and perhaps always struggle with, but with God's help we will improve as we learn to trust Him.
Our attitude in obedience to God is important. God resists the proud. If our attitude toward obedience to God is wrong, it is always, always, because of pride in our hearts. "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:6-7)
We might say, "I want to obey God in everything, I want to serve Him with all my heart." That is good, but when the test of this comes, do you truly follow and obey? Our God tells wives to submit to their own husbands, this is the divine order, How well are we obeying God in this?
What if your husband tells you not to buy processed sweets and candy? You love sweets and candy, and so do your children, what can you do?
I had this happen, it was difficult to say the least. I struggled when I was at the grocery store as we passed the candy counters. Before, I use to pick up a candy bar or some chocolate and eat what I wanted and shared it, but now if I did this I would be.... gulp... disobeying God! Yes, since we have a divine order, God says,"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." To buy that candy would mean disobeying my husband's wishes, and above that disobeying God!
If I said in my heart, "How ridiculous, he just wants to control me in everything, I don't have to listen to him in something so silly." What would I be doing? Would I be acting like a "daughter of Eve?" .... Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,....
Would it be pride? Yes! Why? Read the rest of the account in Genesis 6.... and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, ...
Eve wanted to be wise like God, she did what she felt like doing.
What about taking the candy off the the counter, buying it and eating it, despite my husbands wishes, how is this pride?
Doing so would be a direct disobedience to God, It is pride that makes me callous and non-thinking. I take the candy, I eat the candy.... I think I know better than God.
Maybe I'm not thinking in my heart, "I know better." but I have an attitude of willfulness, it is my attitude that spurs my rebellion. It is the attitude of the heart that our God is seeing.
This is rebellion, I am deceived... what is more frightening is that the next time I have an opportunity to obey, it will be harder to do so. The more we disobey God and ignore His promptings, the harder our hearts become and spiritually deaf we become.
Well, I am speaking out of experience here. Yes, after a struggle and a determination that I was going to obey my husband in this, I gave in and ate that candy. I was rebellious and my children knew it. Several things happened from a seemingly small thing; my children had less respect for authority, and I became very sick. I knew that the sickness was directly connected with my disobedience and it humbled me to a huge degree. The Lord taught me through that experience that obedience to Him in the seemingly smallest matters is very important to Him. I did confess my sin to God, to my husband and to my children. This experience caused me to feel sober about obeying my husband in the smallest matters. Undesirable consequences are the results of disobedience. My relationship with God depends on my obedience to Him... it is extremely important.
(And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.) (Hebrews 12:5-8)
(Those who are the true followers of God know that I am not talking about "Legalism" here. I am talking to those who are already saved through faith in Jesus Christ our God. Those who have been washed with His blood and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead. Those who are saved from the wrath of God that was on them because of their sin. Those who know that Jesus took God's punishment and wrath on himself for their sin on the cross and shed his blood and died. Those who believe on Him in their hearts and have repented of their sins. Who have been saved and have become a new creature in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are freed from the bondage of sin and given liberty not to sin! Praise God!!!)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1)
We have lessons to learn! We have so MUCH to learn! Are we teachable?
Mothers, your attitude will rub off onto your children. If you are obeying your husband but resent him while you are doing it, your children will see through you and they will feel the same about authority.
There are times when we want to have a good attitude, but find that a wrong attitude suddenly appears when we are not expecting it. If this happens we need to stop and ask ourselves, "Why?"
Examine your heart before God. Ask God to reveal to you why you are irritable, or angry. Ask Him to reveal the pride of your heart, (Yes, pride is always, always, behind a bad attitude! ). Be teachable, if God will show you areas of wrong attitudes of your heart... repent of them and ask Him to help you have His perspective in your thinking. We need to ask Him for a humble and quiet spirit.:
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." (James 4:8-10)
Dear Mothers, we have been given a very serious and eternal job in raising our children for God. This is not a time to play or be, "flippant". Oh take this task before you seriously, a responsibly before God, it is He to whom you will have to answer. Be serious about your own relationship with Jesus Christ. Seek Him with all your heart, and let Him mold and shape you for His glory.
To conclude my story about sweets and processed sugars.. I learned of other healthy alternatives for sugar... and it started our family onto much healthier eating! Praise God!
To be continued... in part 4
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