I've never been in the military, but sometimes at home as a child it felt like it. My mom's nickname at one time with the family was "Drill Sergeant" or just "Sergeant." All in fun what it really meant was that mom demanded and commanded a lot from me and my brother.
We sometimes approach God like this. He is the drill sergeant and we have to keep in line with all of his demands as he barks them out through scripture or loud preachers. God has expectations and let's be honest, we do too!
I don't approach scripture as my marching orders and how we read scripture needs to be a future blog series in itself. I don't view God as my sergeant either, especially the drill sergeant. Someone who has been in the military might find that comparison different than me, but as I see it God is not barking at me ready to make a spectacle of me when I do wrong (I understand that my view of military is from the movies and TV, so If I'm way off base, comment and share a new perspective).
But our series isn't about who God is, but rather how we speak to God. I teach my kids and expect my youth ministry students to treat each other and me with respect and that it is beneficial to use, "Please" and "Thank You." However, sometimes I, myself, get bold and speak to God as if he lacks intelligence or is hard of hearing and I bark my commands at him.
It's okay to expect things of God and know that he has the power to do whatever He wants. But if we are truly tuning our voice, then we need to come to God with a heart of anticipation, expectation, and humility. It is our own arrogance that creates a commanding voice to God. We think we know the answers and what is right. We bark at God, like a dog or even worse people we love. We are not in control and therefore we cannot command what God will do.
Please has become a weak word in our American Individualism vocabulary. We have made please a place of inferior meekness in a world full of sharks. The truth is that "please" is a sign that we understand and respect another person. We don't whine to God, "Pleeeeaaaaseee!!!", but we do come to God with humility and ask please for his will to be done. Even God's equal, Jesus Christ, comes to God with great humility when he ask that the cup be passed over him. We must follow that example and expect that God will come with power in his own way and we remain faithful and leave the commands to the professionals, Drill Sergeants!
We sometimes approach God like this. He is the drill sergeant and we have to keep in line with all of his demands as he barks them out through scripture or loud preachers. God has expectations and let's be honest, we do too!
I don't approach scripture as my marching orders and how we read scripture needs to be a future blog series in itself. I don't view God as my sergeant either, especially the drill sergeant. Someone who has been in the military might find that comparison different than me, but as I see it God is not barking at me ready to make a spectacle of me when I do wrong (I understand that my view of military is from the movies and TV, so If I'm way off base, comment and share a new perspective).
But our series isn't about who God is, but rather how we speak to God. I teach my kids and expect my youth ministry students to treat each other and me with respect and that it is beneficial to use, "Please" and "Thank You." However, sometimes I, myself, get bold and speak to God as if he lacks intelligence or is hard of hearing and I bark my commands at him.
It's okay to expect things of God and know that he has the power to do whatever He wants. But if we are truly tuning our voice, then we need to come to God with a heart of anticipation, expectation, and humility. It is our own arrogance that creates a commanding voice to God. We think we know the answers and what is right. We bark at God, like a dog or even worse people we love. We are not in control and therefore we cannot command what God will do.
Please has become a weak word in our American Individualism vocabulary. We have made please a place of inferior meekness in a world full of sharks. The truth is that "please" is a sign that we understand and respect another person. We don't whine to God, "Pleeeeaaaaseee!!!", but we do come to God with humility and ask please for his will to be done. Even God's equal, Jesus Christ, comes to God with great humility when he ask that the cup be passed over him. We must follow that example and expect that God will come with power in his own way and we remain faithful and leave the commands to the professionals, Drill Sergeants!
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