Oh my gosh. My kids are so awesome. I can’t believe how smart and creative they are sometimes. No, you don’t understand. I love to talk about them and tell stories of the funny things they do and say. I love to brag about them. I am so proud of my kids and I love them so much! I’m really bummed sometimes when my kids don’t act fully themselves in front of others. They don’t show their true personalities like they do at home. People are really missing out. I just want everyone to know how cool, how creative, and how smart my kids are – how fun they are to be around. My wife and I look at each other sometimes and ask – are other kids like this, or are our kids just extraordinarily brilliant?!
If you are a parent, I would assume you can relate to this. When it comes to our kids we are so quick to praise them. When we do this, do you think God feels slighted and say “Hey, what about me?” You know the God I’m talking about? God, who sent Jesus to die for us. …Who has withheld his wrath on sinful man from us because Jesus allowed us to take on his righteousness …Who created all the universe with the power of his spoken command …Who has provided great wealth and blessings for us …who gave us our very breath of life as a gift today …who invented things like music and relationships and love?
What about God? Aren’t we proud of our God? Aren’t we proud to be associated with Him? Aren’t we proud that our God is above all other gods? Do we look for opportunities to tell stories about us and God?
Where is our praise of God? Where are our stories about how awesome God is? Where is our bragging about how smart and creative and brilliant God is? Why don’t we talk with our friends about the generous gift of life God gave us that morning? Sometimes it seems like God is just some utility silently running in the background that we only bring up when life isn’t operating as we think it should.
How does God handle being ignored? He has done more and is more, and deserves more credit for awesomeness than anyone else in the universe. Yet he sits back and watches as the very people He created virtually ignore His contribution to their life.
Perhaps I’m overstating it, but, I don’t know. It seems to me I should be acknowledging God a lot more since He is behind pretty much every great thing in my life – and yours.
When I first started reading this post I thought you were going somewhere else with it. But before I get to that, a response to your question about whether it's just your kids who are so smart and talent and you got lucky or if all kids are. I've worked in kids ministry off and on for years, and I've taught in a variety of class settings. I have yet to meet a kid that wasn't smart. Yes, some have motivational issues, and others don't learn well with the teaching styles generally accepted in the classroom, but it almost seems like we all lose the "smart" aspect of being a kid at some point while growing up. Maybe it's in those teenage years where we all struggle with being socially acceptable, maybe it's once we realize exactly how much work we have to do to get where we want to be and settle for that instead of being open to new challenges. I'm not sure, but as one without the bias of having her own kids, I have yet to meet a kid that wasn't smart. That said, where I thought you were going with this was that as children of God, the way parents feel about their kids is the way God feels about us. The way parents see the full potential and personality of their kids is the way God views our personality and potential. As much as you wish others could see the full aspect of your childrens' personality is the way God wishes we would project ourselves to others, rather than putting ourselves into the "socially acceptable" box and hiding that which isn't desired in our social circles or workplaces. Perhaps it is from the cloistered lives of adults that kids learn it's not safe to be one's full self outside the home. Or perhaps more damaging, it's in people refusing to acknowledge and examine all parts of ourselves that temptation and finds a dark crevice in which to silently grow, only to burst out in full form some time later in a more significant way. Kids are a blessing, and it is good to praise them, to honor them, and through that to acknowledge, praise, and honor God who gave you such blessings. Perhaps the point should be that every time you praise the blessings, to praise the One who gave you the blessings.