It’s easy to make the same mistake over and over. Yes, I am guilty. I have my eyes on the cares of this world rather than on the goodness of God. Hopefully, the “No frogs allowed” rule will be a reminder of where to put your focus.
Frogs and Raising Boys
I was blessed with two daughters, before Lizzy and I had a son. My experience is that raising a son was very different than raising daughters. Boys seem to be bigger risk takers. They are always stretching the boundaries. At our house, we were always making new rules because of our son and his friends. We never needed a rule for the girls that “Climbing the chimney was not allowed” or “You cannot drive through the neighborhood with friends until they have a license.”
So, here’s where the frog rule comes into play. My nephew, Mitchell, loves animals and critters of every kind. One day, his mom noticed that he kept moving around, unable to find a comfortable position at the breakfast table. She asked him, “Are you sick?” “What is wrong?” He smiled and said, “Nothing, the frogs just keep moving.” “The frogs?” she responded. Sure enough he pulled not one, not two, but four big bullfrogs out of his pockets. At that, his mom made a new rule, “No frogs at the table.”
A few days later, just before he sat down at the table, he jumped up and raced back outside. He emptied his pockets of two frogs and a lizard. “Sorry, mom,” he said, “I forgot the rule.” Mitchell is kinda like us. He wanted to do the right thing, but his temperament to scoop up frogs, lizards, and tiny garter snakes was just too much to resist. So, his mom instituted a door check policy. Before entering the house Mitchell had to stop at the door and check his pockets.
I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with loving frog. It is just that his mother did not want them in her house.
Heart Check Policy
I think a similar policy would be good for us too. . . a “No frogs allowed“ policy. This rule would require us to pause a few minutes at the beginning of each day. Specifically, we would check our hearts to make sure we are focusing on the goodness of our God and not on the trouble in our world. Then, we can begin our day by entering into the presence of our God.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote that we should fear the Lord. I think a better translation might substitute the words “delight in” for fear. I have found that those who delight in the Lord are blessed. But, those that don’t care about God are headed for serious trouble.
Yes, as humans, it seems that we are often making the same mistake over and over. Our eyes are on the cares of this world rather than on the goodness of God. We don’t take the time to delight in the Lord. Instead, we should check our hearts at the beginning of each day. If we do this, we’ll be able to pray with confidence: Heavenly father, no matter what happens today, my life is good. You make it that way.
“Blessed is the one who delights in the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14, ESV
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Finding Wisdom.