"Why? No Really... Why?"
As a fairly new parent, I am understanding more and more clearly that merely teaching my child to behave a certain way does not necessarily solve the problem of disobedience. If my child's rebellion springs from her heart, then her heart needs to be addressed and not only her outward behavior. If the heart is not addressed, even if one behavioral problem is "corrected" another one is sure to arise. She will simply find some other way to manifest her rebellious attitude. I might get my child to come to sit still during dinner, but she might later deliberately throw her food to the floor in anger. The problem is that she is not learning to lovingly trust me in obedience, and her selfish heart is not being addressed. She is simply being taught that she will get in trouble with Papa if she doesn't sit still.
The same fundamental principle applies to adults as well. Oftentimes people make decisions without ever considering if there is a biblical basis behind those decisions. Although they might profess that they seek to honor God with the decisions they make, when it actually comes time to make day to day decisions, God is not really on their minds. They don't turn to the Scriptures to figure out how God might direct them. Instead, their decisions are made based solely on practicality, convenience, and ease. If it isn't convenient for them, people don't seem to care about pursuing the most God-glorifying decisions. They reason to themselves that there can be no other way. They look at their circumstances and conclude that their decision must be best. They fail to examine what are the real desires of their hearts.
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