When will we ever learn??

        You know having children can teach us a lot about our relationship with God. Out of our 5 beautiful children....three of them are are in the rebellious, push the limit stage. Ages 5, 4, and 2 make for an interesting mix of emotions. We have a list of all the house rules with pictures for the younger ones. They know what is expected of them. At the top of the list is "Put God first in everything you do." That rule alone should warrant good behavior, but we go on to include others such as "Furniture is for sitting, not gymnastics" "Climbing is for monkeys, not lil boys and girls" "We use our hands for helping and loving" "Use your walking feet inside" and the list goes on. They are simple rules that will make the house a peaceful, loving place and keep everyone safe. I dont ask them for anything complicated or make them do anything that is crazy or over the top. We simply ask them to follow those rules, treating every one with respect and love.
          God, our Heavenly Father, does the same for us. He has laid out simple rules for us to follow, nothing complicated, mere guidelines for our daily living to keep us safe and keep us at peace with those around us. "Have no other gods" "Do not make idols" "Dont take His name in vain" "Keep the Sabbath holy" "Honor your father and mother" " Do not murder" "Do not commit adultery" "Do not steal" "Do not lie"  "Do not covet your neighbors stuff"  and above all "love your neighbor as yourself" I mean really, those arent hard things to do. He goes even further throughout the Bible to give us guidance on how we can do it all, ways to make it easier.
      Going back to my beautiful babies.....with such simple rules to follow, why is there not a constant state of peace and tranquility in my home, lol? Why is it that day in and day out i must discipline them for breaking multiple rules? And sometimes for breaking the same rule 2 or 3 times in a matter of 15 minutes??? It can be really frustrating and i will ask them "Why cant you just do what you know is right????" They love to sit in front of the rules and recite them to me over and over again, so proud that they can "read" (even though they are just lookin the pictures). They are quick to tell me when their brother or sister breaks a rule, making sure to go point it out on the list.  They know the rules by heart and can tell me what they did wrong every time they get in trouble. YET, they continue to break the rules in the heat of the moment, continue to mess up when they think no one is watching, continue to do what they KNOW is wrong. Then, the funny part is they dont understand why they must be disciplined.  Why do they have to sit in time out, why do they have to lose their privileges, why is mommy so mean?!? LOL. Then I lovingly must explain to them that they knew the rules and they made a CHOICE to disobey. I love them too much to let them continue to do wrong and i must guide them towards obedience. Life would be much easier if they would just think before they acted and weigh the outcome of disobedience versus obedience.
      We do the same thing to our Father. We know the rules. We are quick to point out what everyone else is doing wrong. Point out the faults in those around us to get them into trouble. We can even cite scripture verses to prove they did wrong. We know right from wrong, no question about that. BUT, and its a big BUT, we CHOOSE to do what is going to get us into trouble.  We make the choice to talk nasty about those around us, we choose to say hurtful things to those we love, we knowingly think thoughts we have no business thinking, we choose to step outside of the will of GOD. We choose to make life more difficult for ourselves when we choose to disobey. And then GOD has to lovingly correct us, disciplining us for what we have done wrong. We then get mad when life is not going our way, when things get difficult, when things start to go crazy. We look at GOD and say WHY?!? Then HE must lovingly reply, because you chose to disobey. He loves you too much to let you continue in your disobedience without consequence. He wants you to succeed and wants you to do well. So, when you do wrong, HE must discipline.
      Will we ever learn to think before we act? Will we learn to weigh out the consequences of our actions? Will we start to understand that when we step outside of the will of GOD and do our own thing.....it will lead to trouble? Will we ever learn that GOD loves us and HIS way will ALWAYS be a better choice than our own?