Never Run From Your Mom!

It never goes well

Any of you ever try to run from your mom or dad when they are coming to punish you?

You know, you did something wrong, hit your sister, played w/ something you weren’t supposed to play w/, broke it, went some place you weren’t supposed to go.

When I was your age, I had a limit where I could go play.

2 houses down, there was a fence. I had to stay this side of the fence. My mom could look out the door, see me, know I was okay and know what I was doing.

I only left for minute. But that was the minute she chose to look out for me to make sure I was doing what she had told me to do.

But, I had gone beyond that fence. She couldn’t see me. I went where I wasn’t supposed to go.

Oh she was mad. She was scared something might have happened to me.

There was a good reason why she wanted me to stay where she could see me.

She was scared, and mad. Then, when she found, just mad. Way mad.

I saw my mom, saw her face, knew what was brewing inside of her. In that moment I had a choice.

I could stay where I was.

I could go to her a face what was coming to me.

I could run.

None of those seemed like good options to me.

It’s one of those, short term pain, long term gain vs. short term gain and long term way pain.

B/C, if I ran away, I would’t get punished right away.

And, on TV, it seems like all the bad guys run when they get caught.

Of course, on TV, they eventually always get caught.

And, my mom, eventually.

I could have avoided getting punished right then. But, look out when it happened.

It always went worse if I tried to run.

The best option, go and face the music.

As an adult, you’d think I would have learned that lesson.

Not so much.

God asked me to do something I didn’t want to do.

I wrote about it in my journal:

Jonah 1:1–4 NIV

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.

I talked about this last week.

I did not like the Ninevites. They were a mean, nasty group of ppl.

I just wanted God to smite them.

No warnings. No letting them off the hook. Just let them have it for being so mean.

But, he wanted me to go warn them.

First of all, did I tell you they were a nasty, mean group?

I go in and tell them they are in trouble w/ God, what do you think they are going to do to me?

They bullied me anyway. Called me names. Made fun of how I look.

I was afraid of them.

You know, if I warn them, give them the chance to change what they were doing. God might not smite them. And, I didn’t want that!

And I really wanted Him to smite them. Squish ‘em like bug.

But, you know. God loves them, too. But still I didn’t want to.

God said Go up.... to Nineveh.

It’s up on a mountain. Like driving up from PHX or up to Flag.

I had a brilliant idea. I’d run down. The opposite direction.

Have you ever seen God’s legs? He’s not going catch me.

I ran down the mountain. Down to the seashore. Down to the port. Down to a boat. And, down into the cabin below deck.

I thought I was safe.

Problem was, God didn’t need legs to catch me.

B/C He controls the weather. And he blew up a big wind that stopped the boat and rocked it like it was going to sink.

Bottom line, it never works out better to run from God, or your mom.

If God, or your mom, tells you to do something, go someplace, or not go someplace; you’re all better off doing what they say.

And, if for some reason you don’t, it never works out better to run.

God loves you. Your mom loves you. They just don’t want you to get hurt.

They don’t give us rules just to ruin our fun. They don’t want us to get hurt and the want everyone to do what’s right and get along.

It’s always better to do what they say.

It’s never better to run when we don’t.

Let’s just all agree. Next time you mom, or God, tells you to do something, let’s do it.

Okay?