Last week I shared a lesson I learned from my baby niece. This week I’d like to share something I learned from my two-year-old niece: No means no.
That might sound strange since most of us learn that before adulthood, but bare with me here.
My niece’s habit is to ask one of us for something, and if we say no, she’ll go to the next person. She’ll go through every adult in the room, as if she hopes one of us will defy the others and give her the answer she wants.
Of course, we don’t. But she keeps doing it, and it drives me insane!
Then one day, I realized that we as Christians often do the same. When we want to do something the Bible clearly speaks against, we go to a Christian friend to ask for advice. And if they don’t give us the answer we want, we go to another friend and do the same until we finally get the answer we’re looking for.
And it’s a waste of time.
I’ve been guilty of this as much as anyone else, and just as my niece’s habit shows immaturity on her part, my tendency to seek the answer I want shows my spiritual immaturity. It also shows a bit of arrogance, as if my answer is better than the Lord’s.
And it’s not.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” When we seek the answer we want, we’re exalting ourselves and our judgment over Christ’s.
So just as we remind my niece to take our answer instead of pushing for her own, we must remind ourselves of the same. God doesn’t say no to hurt us but rather to help us because He sees the results of our choices and wants the best for us, just like I want the best for my niece. So we must take Him at His word. God knows best, and when He says no, He means no.
For more on God as a parent, check out my posts Children of God and Let Go of the Spoon.
