God is mean. If He really loved me, He'd let me do whatever I want! I know what's best for me, I know what I need, I know who I am. If He was really a loving God, He'd let me do what I know is best for me.
I seem to have heard such an argument before, but rather it involves a being called 'mommy' and the offended party just reached the sagacious age of three. When I hear the same arguments out of the mouths of grown adults, I no longer wonder at Paul writing some of his letters to 'spiritual infants.' I think part of our problem, as a culture, understanding God is because we no longer understand what it is to have or be parents. Reading just about anything on parenting on social media, various blogs, or websites is enough to make me want to become Amish! We want our kids to like us, to be our friends, to succeed no matter what, to never hurt or deal with the negative aspects of life, to basically be happy all the time or they are a burden, a nuisance, an obstruction to 'my' self-fulfillment. Both views are utterly selfish and harmful to our children. No wonder we misunderstand our Heavenly Father.
True love demands what is best for the beloved, not for the lover or that the beloved necessarily be 'happy' at that precise moment. Kids need discipline, boundaries, and to take responsibility for their actions; they also need love, security, and a chance to take risks and to be allowed to fail. You do not help your toddler by giving in to his tantrums for more sweets, but rather by teaching him that there is a time and a place for treats and that he will not die for want of them. Perhaps when God says 'no' or 'wait' when we demand a certain blessing, He has a very good reason for it, one that we cannot yet comprehend or see. He's not mean, He's just a good parent.
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