That Doesn’t Apply to Me

Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.

Psalm 119:18 (NLT)

The word truth seems to be a relative term these days. In the era of fake news, opinionated-facts, and other countries producing misleading content for us, trying to discern the fake from the not fake can be difficult. Of course, generally looking at the website address of the article will tell you whether it’s somewhat trustworthy or totally bogus. Unfortunately, too many people don’t dig that deep and they buy the lie, or at least the half-truth.

Then there are teenagers. (Yes, I’m going to pick on you guys for a moment.) They know their “truth” but have no idea why they know it. They are sure they’re right, but don’t know the reasoning behind it. Perhaps it just feels correct. This is why parents struggle with kids in their teens. They are old enough to think they know enough to overrule their parents. They believe that the truth that the parents know doesn’t apply to them or their life situation. So, they do things that don’t seem bad in the short-term, but turn out bad in the long-term. Parents tell kids to sit up and not slouch. Why? Because when you hit your 40s, all those years of slouching turn into aching. And it only gets worse as you age. Parents tell their kids to talk about their issues with others. But teens keep it bottled up. Years later, they come apart at the seams because of the stress, guilt, and shame and self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, sex, self-harm, or any other vice. You can’t trade only a decade and a half of experience for four to five decades of wisdom. Parents can understand the impact in mid-life that those teenage decisions had.

Of course, we are all like teens – even if those teenage years are a distant memory. Our Holy Parent, you know, God Almighty, has the same issues with us. He asks us to do certain things in life to help us be productive, on sure footing, to find peace, hope and love, but we overrule Him. Why? Because we know better. And, in the short term, we may not experience those aches and pains, those regrets and shame. But, eventually when we don’t follow God’s directions, our spiritual life becomes damaged, and there are eternal consequences.

This is why we must embrace our verse today. As the psalmist wrote, “Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” Our four to five decades pale in comparison to the wisdom of our Father who has existed forever.

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