Because I Said So

Remember when you were a kid and your parents would tell you to do something or you asked for something and they would say "No" ? Remember asking "Why!!??!!" "How come????" "Why not?????" and without much pomp & circumstance they would say, "Because I said so." Did that ever happen to you? Happened to me. Remember telling yourself you would never be so cruel to YOUR children? Remember how unfair that answer....or non-answer felt?

Ever say that to your own kids? I know I did. Rather than explaining the big picture of why they needed to go to bed even if their best friend got to stay up an hour later than they did on school nights or why they couldn't ride to the mall with that boy nearly 5 years older than they were, I would sometimes resort to the old standby, "Because I said so"

Children cannot understand the consequences of choices they want to make because they do not have the wisdom, experience or foresight to know what those choices could bring. No amount of explaining will satisfy a two year old or hostile preteen or make a difference when it's something they really REALLY want to do and, let's face, everything is something they really REALLY want to do at any age. So, it's "Because I said so."

In our faith life we deal with that very issue. Our heavenly Father CAN see the big picture where we can not. He knows the consequences of our choices and actions long before we ever take a step. Sometimes, His answer is "Yes" and we like that a lot. Other times, we get a "No" and we do not like that one at all. Often, we get a "Not now" and we are not much happier with that than we are the "No". Sometimes He watches as we jump off the proverbial bridge in spite of His warnings. We are no different than the insistent two year old.

As our heavenly Father, He guides us with His written Word, the Bible. He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit; through a sermon we might hear, through the counsel of a Christian friend. Sometimes we resent His answers as much as we resented our parents when they would utter those dreaded words. We may have come a long way from our teen years but obviously we still have some growing to do! When we are satisfied with the holy "Because I said so" we will be much closer to where we need to be.