God & Gas Prices

The law from your
mouth is more precious to me
  than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Psalm 119:72

Parenting that honors God must be consistent with what God
says about himself in Scripture. Your appreciation and awe for God and his Son
must increase, not decrease. In any
relationship, if you begin to take someone for granted the strength of that
relationship begins to decrease. Taking
God for granted, as in not having growing love for him, will lead to
inconsistency in the things you say and the things you do.  Children show particular expertise in
detecting inconsistencies in parents. If you talk to you children about a God
who is wonderful, about a Savior who means everything to you, but then you are
down and discouraged about some event that didn’t go your way, you are being
inconsistent. Your testimony about the wonder of God is diminished your
children’s eyes.

 

For example, you may speak glowingly about the sovereignty
of God but then be quickly discouraged by rising gas prices. This
discouragement may spill over into worry and short tempers as the price of gas
marches upward. Complaints begin about the price of food going up because of
high gas prices. Trips to the gas station become an exercise in anxiety as you
peek to see how high the gas price has risen since yesterday.  You may hear yourself saying things like, No children we can’t go to the park today.
It is too expensive to drive there and I don’t want to hear any whining about
it.
  Then you pick up the phone, call
a friend from church and say, “I just can’t believe the price of gas! This is
outrageous. I can’t even go to the store without having to take out a loan to
pay for gas!”

What difference does the sovereignty of God make to you? God
is no less gracious to you now than when gas was selling for $1.95 per gallon. However,
your children might think otherwise. Do they hear constant complaints and worry—or
short, irritated responses?

To be sure, the rising price of gas presents significant
budget challenges to your family. But Colossians 1:15-20 says that Jesus Christ
has authority even over the price of gas. Romans 8:28 teaches that all things
work together for the good of those who love him. If you teach your children
that the control of God is a good thing, then you must also come to terms with
rising gas prices. This does not mean that you must pray for the price of gas
to go higher! But it does mean that even in this difficult situation and the
financial hardships that may come, God is still the wonderful Lord of Creation.
He is bringing these events about so that you will look more to him and less to
yourself.  It is important to teach your
children to adjust to the lifestyle changes that may come with rising fuel
costs in a way that honors God. God is
still a good God even if gas prices continue to rise.

It may well be that rising gas
prices are the result of poor
governmental planning, the war in  Iraq, and  an over dependence on
foreign  oil.  But  none of these factors detracts one bit from
the glory of God and the priceless gift of salvation found in Jesus
Christ.
Psalm 119:72 says:

The law from your
mouth is more precious to me
  than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Every trial is an opportunity to live out this reality in
front of your children. Rising gas prices will no doubt have a significant
financial impact for many, perhaps your family. As Psalm 46 says, you can take
comfort and refuge in the knowledge that the God of Jacob is for us. The Bible
does not ignore hard times. It tells us to expect them. The difference between
the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7 is not that one faced storms and the
other one did not. Storms came to the lives of both men. The difference was the
foundation upon which their lives were built. May God grant grace to us as
parents, and the ability to present God as faithful in both pleasant times and difficult
times. The world can easily complain about high gas prices and fall into
despair. God calls you to be different from the world. Use this opportunity to offer
praise to the Lord of heaven and earth, and yes, have confidence in God even in
the face of gas prices.

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