Inspirational Article From Joanne Lowe Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web

IS IT WORTH THE PRICE

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.”

Luke 14: 28 - 32 King James Version

When I was at Wal-Mart this morning I saw something that made me very angry and had I been able to get to that mother, I think I would have hit her and asked God to forgive me later. However, I was riding in a handicapped cart and couldn’t go that fast. I saw this mother give a grocery bag to her little girl to carry. The bag was much too heavy for this little girl as she was probably about five years old. The bag was dragging on the floor and the little girl was crying and asking her mother to take the bag because it was too heavy and was hurting her arms. The mother wasn’t carrying anything at all. The mother looked at the little girl and said “Stop whining, just carry it”. A few minutes later I heard this same mother say to the woman who was with them “I don’t know why I ever had kids”.

I can’t remember being that angry in a long time. Yes, sometimes I get upset when someone says something harsh and critical to me but when I see a child mistreated, it’s like a pot of hot water boiling inside of me and I explode with anger. Thank God that I didn’t follow through on my anger. It’s okay to get angry; it is not okay to react to our anger.

It is extremely difficult to pray when we are so angry and ask God to help us keep our big mouths shut, but that is exactly what we need to do. Otherwise we will give in to our anger and say and do things that hurt people and then it becomes sin to us because the Bible says “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Not only does it become sin to us but it hurts Jesus and breaks His heart.

Is it worth it to give in to our anger when we know that we have hurt the One who loves us so much that He died for us? Is it worth it to disobey Him? I don’t know about you, but when I sin, I get nauseous and it’s not worth the price I have to pay just to say something harsh and critical that I have no business saying in the first place.

When I heard her say “I don’t know why I ever had kids” my anger vanished and a deep sorrow lodged in my heart because I also had heard my own Mother say this to one of her friends. This mother does not know or perhaps does not care that her little girl will remember what she said for the rest of her life. It is possible that the mother didn’t really mean it; that she was just upset about something, but the words were said and can never be taken back.

Thank God that when we have something too heavy to carry and it’s hurting us, we have the assurance that we can go to Jesus and He will be faithful to take the burden from us. He is just waiting for us to come to Him because He longs to set us free from our burdens and heartaches and give us rest.

We read in the Bible, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28 – 30).

Please don’t say things to your children that hurt and cripple them emotionally. It’s not worth the price you will have to pay when you stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way you treated your children. We must love our children and prove our love to them by our kind words and our actions. There should never be one day go by that we don’t hug our children if it is at all possible. We may not be able to hug them in person but we can pick up the telephone and say “I love you” or we can send them a letter or email telling them that they are loved.

The most important thing we need to do for our children is tell them that Jesus loves them. We can give them money, buy them expensive clothes, buy them countless toys and buy them cars but if we haven’t told them that Jesus loves them, we have disobeyed God and neglected to do what He told us to do. The material possessions that we buy our children will not help them when they leave home and face the temptations and heartaches of the world. If we teach them about Jesus and His love for them, they will have a solid foundation that all hell can’t crumble.

How would we feel if God only told us He loves us once in a while? I don’t know about you but I need Him to reassure me that He loves me because when the heartaches and sorrows of this life overwhelm me, I need that reassurance. Yes, we need God to tell us that He loves us, but He also wants us to tell Him that we love Him. Have you told Him today that you love Him? If so, what have you done to prove you love Him?

Joanne Lowe

June 12, 2007

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