Oops! Crossed The Line

Oops! Crossed the Line

The athletes’ breath lingered in the crisp morning air. With each synchronized thrust, all ten dug their oars into frigid water, sending slender boats gliding across the lake’s glassy surface. Moving as one, the Belarus national rowing team trained with great precision, relieved to be training at all. You see, the reservoirs back home were still frozen, so the independent republic of Pridnestrovie invited the squad to prep for the 2007 world championships on the Kuchurgan Liman, a saltwater lake it shares with Ukraine.

For the Belarusians, getting permission to tear across the Kuchurgan Liman in late March must have made them feel like teenagers who’d just been handed the keys to the family car. “Buckle up and be safe!” But whoever turned them loose on the lake neglected to share a rather important bit of information: “If you accidentally paddle into Ukrainian waters, expect its coast guard to arrest you, fine you, confiscate your boat, and throw you in jail.” Which is exactly what happened.

Wouldn’t it have been helpful for the Belarusians to know the boundaries—and the consequences—before they got in over their heads? Maybe someone did tell them. But if so, like teens impatiently jingling the car keys, maybe they rolled their eyes and said, “Yeah, yeah, we know” or “That’s not fair! Susie gets to cross the international border!” You see where this is going, don’t you?

The best parents define boundaries, curfews, and other guidelines in their children’s lives. They do it because they don’t want to see their kids get hurt. Plus, God commands parents to repeat his rules at home, on the road, at night, and in the morning (see Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Parents don’t want to be killjoys. They establish rules for the same reason God does—love. So the next time you’re tempted to roll your eyes at your heavenly Father’s warnings, just remember that he loves you and that he knows what will happen if you cross that line.

Daddy-Daughter Time

Can you recall a time when you felt a rule was unfair, only to realize later that it was there for your protection? What happened? Describe some of the boundaries your family has established. Read the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5. Now consider how each rule is intended for your benefit and how breaking God’s law could prove costly.

What’s The Word?

You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.   Deuteronomy 6:6-7