The Bible tells us that God knows every hair on our head, and that he is omnipresent.
Proverbs tell us that God directs our ways (Proverbs 16:9) and so many people believe that everything they do is watched by God.
But I wonder if God is really that interested in every, single, little thing that we do?
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Are you familiar with the term “Helicopter Parent?” It refers to a parent who is constantly watching their child, always hovering over him or her, and never really letting the poor kid do anything on its own.
I don’t see God being this way.
I do believe that God watches over us, but not to the point where he interferes with what we do, except maybe in a way that prevents us from doing real harm to ourselves.
And even then, he might let us go ahead and “skin our knees” because if you never fall, you never learn how to get back up again.
No, from my understanding of the way God has treated people in the biblical stories, he is interested, but he also knows when to let us be on our own.
The problem with a helicopter parent is that they become so involved in their child’s life that they can actually hurt their child’s development, not allowing them to learn how to get out of trouble (because they are never allowed to get into it, in the first place) or to develop independence.
Whether we like it or not, children learn best by watching their parents. Socialization skills, problem solving, how to act in public, etc. are all defined by what their parents do (for the most part), with peer pressure being the next biggest influence on their personal growth.
Maybe this is why God often says that we should be holy because he is holy?
To me, that sounds like the ultimate form of learning by example. God will watch over us, but he is also loving enough to allow us to screw-up and even get into trouble, so that we learn how to make amends and how to get out of the trouble we get ourselves into.
And I also know that he is totally able to extricate us from any problems we get ourselves into, if it comes down to that.
So, what is the point of all this?
It is that we should always trust God to be there for us, confident that we can count on him in times of trouble. And to read the Bible to learn about who God is (not just trust what some religions tells us) so that we can emulate him in our daily lives. God is the epitome of parenthood, and along with (or should I say, despite of) what our own parents teach us, we should always look to God to be the role model to emulate.
He will always be there when we need him, but he isn’t going to micro-manage our lives.
However, if you reject him by rejecting the way he said to live (in the Torah), as many Christian religions have taught their followers to do, then there is a good chance he won’t be there when you need him most.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!