Unfair

I have been accused by my one of my children of being unfair...that I create rules for this one that I don't have for the others. This child contends that they are treated differently from the other two. And what is my answer to these trumped-up charges? Probably so. (if you are familiar with Danny Silk you will particularly appreciate my answer)
See- I have already said that I do not enjoy a lot of structure which naturally lends itself to a home without a lot of rules. Any rules we do have serve a specific purpose. For instance- Brandt has rules about video games- what games, how long, and what times because he plays video games frequently enough that he needs some guidelines concerning them. The girls do not so they have no video game rules. If I made our rules a one-size-fits-all we would end up with a mess.
I think there are times the Lord tries to parent us the same way and we react with the same response as my child-"You are unfair and treat me differently than everyone else- no one else has to do (or NOT do) this!" I mean there are, obviously, rules He has put in place that are for everyone. What I am talking about is the not so black and white stuff- the gray areas as we like to call them. The places He calls us to do things differently than people around us- even Christian people.
I will give an example from my own life (I will use one that I actually obeyed the Lord on as these examples are more rare than the times I disobeyed) He put it in my heart at a very young age not to drink alcohol. Even as an adult- I still feel just as strongly that this is what He has asked me to do as I did when I was younger. When people find this out- especially non-Christians -it always brings the inevitable question- "Do you think it's a sin to drink?" First- the good thing for everyone is- I don't get to decide if anything is a sin or not. Second- maybe this comes from being a Christian a while- but I'm really not much concerned with whether something is a "sin". I'm more concerned with what He thinks than what I can analyze and try to justify having in my life. I just know He has told me this isn't good for me and I have to trust He knows what he's talking about. I know with my own kids, like Brandt's video games- I don't put rules in place unless they need them. So if He's telling me I should stay away from alcohol- it's probably because He knows this might be a problem for me.
Drinking may not be an area He has spoken to you about- and that's what I love so much about Him. He is so very personal. He is not a one-size-fits-all God. He knows us each individually and while His holiness never changes, His goodness never falters, His righteousness is never diminished- He calls us to areas of holiness individually in our lives and if we will only listen we'll realize it's more about protecting us than Him. Our desire should be for His glory to be known but His desire is for relationship with us and for that to happen- He wants to keep us from all the things that stop us from being close to Him. I don't limit Brandt's time on video games because I hate games or want to show him who's in charge. I just don't want to lose him to a virtual reality- I want to see him, talk to him, laugh with him- I want him to enjoy real life outside of that little room- playing sports, hanging out with friends...I want better for him than what those games have to offer.
The Lord loves us in the same way, only a million times more. If we would only let Him father us-" ..how I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing..."(Matthew 23:37) Oh that we would be willing! He is so good - even in His unfairness- He is so good! But most of the time we are unwilling and we plunge ourselves into activities and habits He never meant for us and we move further away from the person He created us to be and the relationship He created us for. How many times have we broken His heart? How many times has He shown us a better way only for us to tell Him He's unfair and head off down a path of our own making? I'm sure more times than I can count in my own life. But He keeps calling- keeps pointing me back to the path He had in mind because He wants my obedience- He wants my trust- but more than all of that- He wants me, my whole heart moving through life fully in His presence .