I have been helping my daughter by keeping her little girl this past week. Of course, she is precious and so much fun, but she is also two!
There are good reasons that this age is labeled the terrible twos! One minute she is happy and laughing and the next she is throwing a fit, and we aren’t always quite sure why. Although she clearly loves her family, she seems to love her toys more. Sometimes she makes unhappy grunting noises rather than simply asking for what she wants. She expects us to be at her bidding all day at any time. Her life definitely revolves around her desires, and she expects our lives to do the same. The adjectives unreasonable and bossy fit her quite nicely.
Have you ever been around a two-year-old? Sometimes you just want to laugh at the extreme reactions, and other times they make you want to cry.
I wonder if God feels similarly when we act in much the same way. Does he get a laugh when we cry over unimportant issues? Does he want to help us understand that we are over-reacting and throwing unnecessary fits when he tells us no? Does he wish that we showed the same love toward him that we do for our stuff? Does he hope that we will trust him to do what is best for us? Does he wish that we would just talk to him about our fears, sorrows, and dreams instead of whining to others? Do we see our lives as all about us or all about him? Are we unreasonable with our demands and try to boss God into doing our bidding?
As leaders do we expect God to move when we are want and as we want? To be available only when we need him instead of all the time according to his plans and not ours? Do we whine when we face disappointment and discouragement in ministry instead of trusting God and being faithful no matter what?
I suspect we are all culpable at times and act like a spiritual two-year-old. I know that I do!
Hopefully, this time with my granddaughter will enable me to see myself from God’s adult perspective a lot better so that I can avoid the terrible twos!
