The Temper Tantrum

Recently I was attempting to reason with my 2 year old (now 3 year old) when he decided that all negotiations were off and threw himself in the floor to begin a temper tantrum. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times he does this I still get irritated. He is our third child and I don’t seem to remember our first two children engaging in such behavior as frequently as our third son. 

I know for a fact that my first son only threw two tantrums in his toddler years and I know that my second son threw a few more then that but it didn’t seem to be as many as our third baby boy has participated in. We have always said that our third son is the most dramatic one of the bunch so I guess that tantrums fit in with that part of his personality.

This time as he began the tantrum process I just watched him instead of going right into discipline mode. It made me think of us as the human race. It made me think of myself as an individual, our family, our church body and so on down the line. I began to think of how many times I have not gotten “my way” and thrown a tantrum. Sure, I didn’t get down in the floor, kick and scream and carry on but I started to really think about my heart condition. How many times have I “pouted” before God because I simply did not get my way?!?

I thought of the tantrums that my children have thrown. In my heart as their parent I was restricting them from something that would be harmful to them in some way. Sometimes they could potentially harm themselves physically, sometimes character-wise, and sometimes something even more serious such as spiritual damage. As a parent, I was trying to keep my child safe from something. So, why cannot we give that same trust to our own Heavenly Father who is far more intelligent then we can ever dream to be. How come it is that we don’t trust the one that knows the past, future, and present? If we had that same kind of insight how would that change the way we disciplined our children?

As I watched my two year old continue his tantrum I tried to think of what this looks like through God’s eyes. How patient and loving our Father is to allow each of us to go through our own personal “tantrums” sometimes multiple times a day! Oh praise God for his patience and wisdom. Praise Him for not becoming agitated as I do when my own children act in such a way. I couldn't help but to think of the following scripture....

"because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, 

   and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:6

"My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, 

   and do not resent his rebuke, 
because the LORD disciplines those he loves, 
   as a father the son he delights in." Proverbs 3: 11-12