Why Didn't Any Of You Tell Me?

You could have sent me an anonymous letter or staged an intervention or something! I never knew, but apparently...

...I am a negligent mother.

This came as quite a surprise to me, but the guy on the radio said so...

Annoying mother? Sure. Bossy mother? Most definitely! But negligent? Sorry, fella but I'm quite confident that that doesn't describe me.

I was listening to the local Christian radio station and some guy was being interviewed. He was adamantly declaring to all parents that we need to do a specific thing in our children's lives because it is our God-given obligation. I won't reveal what the "obligation" was since that's not my point.

My point is that what he was declaring as so important is something that God's Spirit neglected to make a single reference to in scripture. If it was really so vital, wouldn't God have inspired someone to mention it at least once?

We all have our own ideas and opinions which makes for interesting dialog among friends, but when we elevate those to being the Truth, then we can do some serious damage to the Body of Christ.

It's divisive and self-promoting. We begin to consider ourselves superior, quietly so, because we belong to the group that won't let our kids wear purple or let them drink orange juice for dinner. (Sorry, I had to pick stupid examples in order to not alienate any one.)

I've been guilty of this in the past and I'm sure I'll fail again, but I think it helps if we're aware of it.

When Tobias was born, sleep deprivation and a hormonal riot joined forces to almost send me to the nut house. A friend of mine introduced me to a book on baby scheduling. In my weepy stupor, I read it and immediately began applying the principles. The change that occurred was miraculous. He slept. I slept. I was converted!

I began to think that everyone needed to follow this book's rules. (And I say rules because that is how the guidelines were presented.) I thought that my friends who weren't doing what I was doing were out of God's will. I'm embarrassed to write that now.

Anyway, three and a half years later, Delaney was born. I happily applied the rules and soon discovered that what worked with him was failing dismally with her. She slept when she was supposed to be awake. She wasn't hungry when she was supposed to eat even though I had only tried to feed her when it was the proper time. I was miserable and she was probably longing for the old days in the womb.

I repented of my extraneous conversion and happily "backslid" into laxness.

God has been clear about what is right and wrong. When we try to further justify ourselves based on our own inclinations and musings, we end up being Pharisees.