May. 19, 2007

Lessons from Chicken Little

Mother's Day never fails to put me in a reflective mood.  There are so many emotions that the holiday brings forth.  We are thankful that God would allow us to become mothers.  We are joyful that our children and husbands love us enough to tell us "thank you."  We might also be tearful, thinking about our mothers or other loved ones that are no longer with us.  But among all these emotions, one other unexpected one always sneaks in there- guilt. I'm sure that all of you moms know what I'm talking about.   While everyone is singing your praises, you are reminded over and over again just how many times you've lost your patience that week.   I had to laugh when I walked into Sunday School that morning and learned that our topic was hypocrisy!  But during the course of the lesson, Jonathan said something that changed my perspective drastically.  And it's as simple as this:  We're all hypocrites.  It's true!  None of us truly practice what we preach. But you know what's more amazing than that?  God knew that we would be hypocritical.  He knew that we would lose our patience with our children while supposedly teaching them to be patient.  He knew that we would yell at our children to be quiet.  He knew that we would not consistently point them towards Him.  Are you ready for where I'm going with this?  Here it is... He entrusted these children to us anyway.  Not to pretend that we're perfect, but to show them that He is.  It's our job to let our children know that we make mistakes.  Or as Jonathan would say: Christianity is not about Christians, it's about Christ. So how do we go about applying this to every day life?  In a word, honesty.  When we're wrong in the way we've dealt with a situation, we admit it.  I'll be the first to say, I haven't done this in the past because I've been worried that my kids won't obey my authority if I do.  But the Bible sees this as two separate issues.  We are commanded to obey authority.  But every authority aside from God is flawed in its very nature.  We watched Chicken Little last night, and I saw a great example of this.  I'll spare you the details, but when Chicken Little finally confronts his father with his feelings, his father does something unusual.  He apologizes, but that's not necessarily even the unusual part.  He changes his behavior, because he realizes that it was wrong.  He doesn't let the excuse of "asserting his authority" stand in the way of repentance and renewal.  Not that Disney-Pixar would have used those terms.  DISCLAIMER:  I would not recommend this movie for younger children, as it was very scary in parts.  If you're considering viewing this movie, please see the online review at Plugged In Online's website: www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/

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