Breaking the Rules

Here's what I love: School has begun!

New backpacks, freshly sharpened pencils, healthy lunches, and freshly pressed outfits make me smile.

The start of the school year means new stuff. New clothes, new supplies, new friends, new lunch kits, and new teachers.

However, there are still the same old rules as when I was in school...  

Alexis has a fabulous second grade teacher, Mrs. B.  She’s fun and energetic, but strict too.  My youngest has to continually be on her best behavior.

The class rules are on the wall in the classroom for all to see.

Among them—

--No talking while the teacher is talking.

--No hitting, pushing, or name-calling.

--No cheating.

And so forth.

If the children have a good behavior day, they get a sticker on the chart in their folders so that we parents can know their conduct.  If they’ve broken a rule, it’s noted in their folder and they are not given a sticker.

To encourage good behavior, I told Alexis that if she got 5 stickers in a row, I would come to lunch with her at school!  It seemed like a good bribe.  I hoped that she would want to be good and want to spend time with me. 

However, 2 days in, she got in the car in a huff.  I got a “4” today!  (A “4” is the number assigned to the rule she had broken.)  The words “excessive talking” were noted on her chart.  This meant no sticker.  She was more mad than sad.  It meant that she wouldn’t get 5 stickers in a row and I wouldn’t come to lunch with her at school.

In what might be a discipline fail, I went to lunch anyway.

Why?  Because I wanted to.

That morning, when I looked across the breakfast table at that girl, I saw a scabby elbow, scraggly hair, one tooth missing, and her shirt covered in cat hair.  I knew she had been marked down for excessive talking but I loved her so much my chest hurt.  I wanted to be with her.

So, I went to lunch that day.

I walked in and sat with her.

That’s what God did, ya know. 

He taught his children to be good.  He gave them the rules--clearly written down for all to see.  And He promised them that righteous living would equal the reward of His presence.  

However, they didn’t obey the rules.  In fact, they did more than their fair share of excessive talking.  They excelled at disrespect.  They pushed and hit and hated their neighbor.  They cheated, lied, and pretty much did whatever they wanted.  In other words, they broke the rules.  No stickers for them.

But, God gave His presence anyway.

Why?  Because he wanted to be with them.

One night, he looked through the cosmos at little Israel—scabby, scraggly, missing the mark, covered in sin, and full of excessive pride but He loved her so much, His chest hurt.  He wanted to be with her. 

So, He came to earth that day.

He walked in and sat with her.

Then, He gave her a new promise.(!)

The people would no longer have to be good.  He would be good for them.  All they had to do is believe

trust

accept

and allow Him into their lives to help them live like never before. 

Perhaps I committed a significant parenting faux pas that day.  When I entered that noisy, smelly cafeteria and sat down with that rotten group of rule-breakers, I risked making Alexis think that it’s okay to break the rules—that you can get rewarded anyway. 

OR, I may have taught her a little bit about grace

and a lot about love.