Do We Really Need to Pursue Righteousness?

 

I still remember my first “mama meeting”.  I had only held the mama title for a couple months so I was new to this kind of thing.

These groups exist in various forms, shapes and sizes – Bible study groups, friend groups, book clubs, etc. –  but they often exist, at least partly, for the same reasons.  To help women connect, to encourage, to inspire, and help moms know that they aren’t alone in their mama job.

I had earned my badge now.  Freshly minted, I was invited.  So I decided to attend.

The mamas were kind and inviting and I was enjoying taking it all in, until one mama lost her kids.  Two of her kids just up and went missing.  She casually perused the premise, hollering here and hollering there.

Soon enough other mamas joined in, calling out names and peeking around walls.  And the mama whose kids were AWOL was beginning to show signs of stress.

Thankfully, within a few minutes the missing persons were found – in the dirt pile out back. Much to their mama’s chagrin, of course.

The mama, her heartbeat not yet resuming a normal rate, berated her children for their behavior.  She was frustrated and scared and she pulled out the “at home” mama voice, not the one typically used in public.

As the room settled back into its normal flow of conversation other moms began to console the frustrated mama.  “I’m so glad you yell at your children too” they cooed.  “That makes me feel so much better about myself” several of them admitted.

Wait, what?

 

 

I was confused.  Granted, I had the tenure of about 2 months in this mama job and the worst offense my child had yet committed was probably a few diaper blow outs and peeing on me during a midnight change, but this didn’t make sense to me – thank you for yelling at your children, I now feel better about myself?

The other day I was reading about Moses in Numbers.

Moses was a reluctant and unassuming leader who God used to do great things.  He started out in a basket in a river.  He was a Hebrew but was raised by an Egyptian princess.  God spoke to him in a burning bush and called him to leadership even though Moses was convinced he didn’t have what it takes.  He eventually stood before pharaoh, through incredible plagues and signs and wonders and led the entire Hebrew people out of captivity.  And crossed a sea that was parted for them.  And ate bread that fell from the sky.  And drank water that came from a rock.  And what’s more, he talked to God regularly.  Seriously this God-fearing man had some pretty crazy experiences!

But these people he was leading, they were a mess – an unhappy, complaining, stiff-necked mess.  When reading about them in Exodus it feels like they have the memory of a 3 year old.  Yes, God, thanks for parting that sea and all, but I’m hungry and mad about it and wish I could go back to being a slave in Egypt.

God was speaking to these people, regularly. He was showing up and doing big things and He had a plan of something awesome for them, an amazing homeland flowing with milk and honey.  But they were impatient and faithless and short-sided and they grumbled.

Doesn’t this faintly resemble parenting?

 

Moses did his best to lead these grumbling people.  But one day he got tired of it.  God promised water from a rock and in his frustration Moses struck the rock (Numbers 20).  He lost faith, he got angry and he disobeyed God in how he went about leading the people.  God still provided, but there was discipline and Moses was not permitted to enter into the promise land.

I find this heartbreaking.  Moses – this great man of God who led so well for so long, who led an ungrateful and narrow minded people bravely, didn’t get to see the promise land.

But there are consequences to sin. Even for Moses, even for us.

We are commanded to pursue righteousness, friends.

Sure we all pull out the “at home” mama voice occasionally.  This mama job is tough and our kids are relentless and consistency is hard and, man, if it isn’t hard enough to keep our own hearts aligned with Christ let alone shape and mold the hearts of the little people in our care.

But all that, even all that, doesn’t exempt us from pursuing righteousness.  From relying on Him.

We are required to be a godly example to these kids, even when we’re tired.  Maybe especially when we’re tired because that is when we have to dig deep, leaning fully on Christ for grace to do this well.

The job is hard, mama.  The struggle is real.  We will mess this up again and again and thankfully forgiveness is every bit as real as the struggle is.

As I read those passages about Moses I couldn’t help but wonder if that is how the Israelites got so off track. One little conversation at a time.  I’m so glad you’re ticked off at God and Moses.  Me too, that makes me feel so much better about myself!

They say misery loves company and we all know it feels good to commiserate sometimes.  But there is something wrong when someone else’s struggle makes us feel better about our self.

Friends are a gift, they truly are.

But let’s be friends who encourage each other in righteousness.  

Let’s be mothers who grow one another in patience and truth.

Let’s be wives who inspire each other in faithfulness, building our husbands up and fortifying our families in the meantime.  

Let’s be women who inspire each other to live our faith bravely and boldly.

Our words, our thoughts, matter, friends.  There are consequences when we get off track.  May we bravely commit to guarding our heart, controlling our tongue and pursuing righteousness in all we do.