But in my case it is ok...

Raising children is a challenge in itself. From the moment their first breath is taken, as a mother you are teaching, instructing, and molding them according to God’s will. Some days the communication misses its mark. While driving home after picking my middle son Charles up from school, I was going through our normal routine of asking him how his day was, what homework does he have for the night, and what did he eat for lunch. I am raising boys, so I have to be specific in my questions in order to find out how their day was, and to gather any relevant information.

No matter how hard I try though, sometimes things get lost in translation. As we were driving home one Friday, I asked if he received a Scoop Newsletter, which is how the teacher communicates to each of the parents. This newsletter informs parents what subjects are being discussed in class, and if your child received any sign-ins. Charles’ class has a system where if a student forgets a homework assignment, they receive one sign-in, if the student misbehaves they receive another sign-in. Basically, receiving a sign-in is not a good thing.

I compare Charles to the “absent minded professor.” He is in the gifted class, he never has to study to receive all his A’s. But remembering his homework has been his biggest challenge. Many times we are faced with him receiving several sign-ins for missing homework. I know he completes his homework, I see Charles working on it at home, but many times it does not make it back into the proper folder. When asking him about his Scoop Newsletter and how many sign-ins he received for the week. With enthusiasm Charles replied, “I received three sign-ins, but they were NOT for missing homework.” He was so proud of himself; he was rationalizing that he accomplished something good. I looked at him with my eyes as big as saucers and said, “so then that means you got three sign-ins for misbehavior!”

How often do we justify disobedience with rationalizations to God. We rationalize to God explaining our situation is special. This is where our faith in God comes into play, many times our human eyes can see an easier way out of a situation (can we say Israelites), but our ways are NOT his ways. In Hebrews 11:1, Pauls explains, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The Greek word for “assurance” is hupostasis, and that is defiend by Strong’s (#5287) as “thing put under, substructure, foundation”. So faith is the foundation of what is hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. What happens to a foundation that is slowly washed away or eroded? Eventually the foundation will crack or give way. Rationalization is that type of erosion. It seems harmless at the time and may even make sense, but eventually things will come tumbling down and you will be left standing there wondering what went wrong.

The novelist Naguib Mahfouz wrote you can tell a wise man by the questions he asks. Rationalizing can seep in even when we are not aware, so we need to ask God to reveal any erosion in our life, and be ready to have ears that hear. Communication is key, and communication is two way.

So I will have to be even more specific with Charles and tell him, sign ins of any kind are not acceptable. And we as Christians have the responsibility to read God's word, communicate with Him daily, and grow in knowledge. Reading leads to questions, questions lead to wisdom and wisdom provides the tools we need to keep an obedient heart.

Psalms 119:9 "How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word."