35. Necessary actions are tailored to individuals in specific circumstances.
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.” {Matthew 19:8}
It has been said that all experts on parenting are people who don’t yet have kids. And I would have to say that I agree with that! Before I had kids, I thought I had parenting pretty much all figured out. I had ideas and strategies for most of the stuff I was sure I was going to encounter.
But then I had a baby. And, suddenly, what I thought I knew flew out the window. And then I encountered situations that I hadn’t thought about before or read about before, and I wondered if I was responding in the “right” way.
And just as soon as I got it all figured out, I had a second baby, and almost nothing I had learned was applicable to her because she was a totally different person with a completely different personality. I had to train and discipline her in ways that were different from her sister. And as they continue to grow up, as situations change, so do my necessary actions as a parent.
Having two children with totally different personalities and needs has made it easier to understand how and why God responds to His own children in different ways. He deals with each one of us in an individual way, with actions and reactions tailor-made for our unique situations. What may be appropriate with one person in one situation may not be appropriate in another. But we can trust that, whatever He does, it is always done with our best interests in mind.
If you want to dig deeper—
Leviticus 24:17-22
Deuteronomy 8:5
Proverbs 3:12
Isaiah 43:19
Matthew 5:38-40
Hebrews 12:6