Your One Is Backwards

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

~Matthew 12:50

We were in the middle of our school day with my third graders taking a short recess, while I switched laundry and got ready for our next lesson. Little Bee, not yet 5 years old, takes the initiative to look over her older siblings' recently completed math papers as she had just seen "Mommy" do. As I returned to the room, I hear her announce to one of her older siblings in that bossy tone only a preschooler can achieve, "Your one is backwards."

Both third graders rush to the table to find the offending digit and make the correction, while I wonder how long it will take them to realize Little Bee is just bossing with no purpose. It was a few moments before the fact of the matter dawned on them and I heard their rejoinder issue forth in unison, "You can't make a one backwards! It's a straight line!"

These two students had already had their math papers reviewed by the one in authority. They had already made the needed corrections to their work. Yet, when they heard this critique from their younger sister, they rushed to fix a problem that didn't exist.

What I witnessed tickled my funny bone, until I was suddenly struck with the realization that I often do the same thing. I will step forward and do what I am called to do. I will do my best in good faith. Even if things don't go smoothly and I need to make corrections, I have peace that I have done what was right. I have done what was required of me by my Father in Heaven. All is good.

Then, out of the blue, a critique is leveled at me, and, oh, how quickly that peace disappears as it is shoved out of the way by the doubts crowding in. I rush to please the critic. I frantically search for the offense, so I can fix it and make it right. Sometimes, I even change something that shouldn't be changed and lose the Father's blessing. How often I tie myself in knots over the critique of a "backwards one" in my rush to fix a problem which isn't there. Never pausing to evaluate the legitimacy of the criticism, I forget that my only requirement is to please my Lord. I allow something or someone else to take God's place. I commit the sin of idolatry in its most basic form by putting something else in His place.

Now certainly, if my "3" is backwards, figuratively speaking, my Heavenly Father may use an human agent to bring it to my attention, to guide or redirect me. I need to remain teachable and humble enough to accept this criticism and alter my course. But, I also need to have wisdom to know what kind of criticism I am facing. Often, the type of criticism I receive is wholly human in nature; the kind that is unwarranted and unnecessary. The kind that loudly proclaims "your one is backwards."

Digging Deeper:

Read the ten commandments from Exodus 20 with fresh eyes. In what ways do you put something else on God's throne?

Read Proverbs 13:1. How might you discern if the criticism is of a heavenly or human nature?

Read Matthew 6 from Jesus's sermon on the mount. In these examples of giving, prayer, and fasting who are you to please? What happens when the praise of man is what you seek?

Read Matthew 12:46-50. What sets a child of God apart from those of the world?