Girl, let me tell you about my love for steak when I was a youngin’. Shoot, that love ain’t never changed, I just got more particular about my cut, you know what I’m saying? Me and my pops, we shared that love for steak together, even when we didn’t have much money. Daddy made sure we had steak at least once every two weeks, sometimes every week, and I cherished every moment of it.
I remember when I was so young that I couldn’t even chew the steak, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying every juicy bite. My pops would even chew my meat for me, which looking back on it, was kind of gross, but you couldn’t tell me nothing at the time. Steak was my favorite food, and if it were up to me, we would have it every night. But since we couldn’t, I always looked forward to those special steak nights.
I was so impatient when that steak was cooking. As soon as I smelled it, I was ready to devour it. Forget about the sides, just give me the steak! My daddy knew how to keep his little girl happy though, he’d slide me little nibbles to hold me over until dinner was ready. My mom, on the other hand, was not as forgiving. If she said, “No, wait until dinner,” that was that. Daddy would back her up, and I would have to wait. It made me a little upset, but Daddy would always cuddle with me and reassure me that it wouldn’t be much longer.
But there was this one time when I was three years old and my uncle from Detroit was visiting. It was gonna be an extra special dinner, and I was starving. I kept tugging on my mom’s clothes, begging her to give me a piece of that steak. But, like always, she said, “I’m not cooking steak, Pooh. You’ll just have to wait until dinner is done and eat whatever I’ve cooked.” I remember it was really cold that day, and Mom had been cooking for a long time. Daddy was entertaining his brother, and I just wanted my steak right then and there. I even tried to sneak a peek on the counter, but my mama swatted me away like a fly. But you know what they say, good things come to those who wait, however, I was certain that the steak wouldn’t task any delicious when it finally hit my plate.
But like any curious child, I couldn’t resist the temptation. As soon as my mom walked away, I made my way over to the counter, tip-toeing and keeping an eye out for her return. Finally, I reached the pot and began to inch it closer and closer, until I was almost there.
There it was, the big pot that was holding my treasure, my beloved snake! So I inched up as high as I could until I was able to reach the handles, and I slowly pulled it towards me. Inch, by inch, taking brief seconds to look towards the entrance to see if Mom was coming back in. Finally, it had reached the edge of the counter to where I could pull it down. But I immediately realized two problems.
- The pot was extremely heavy. Sliding it along the counter was easy but picking it up and holding it was too much and…
- It was hot!
And not just hot water hot, but boiling, on the oven, in the fire pit kind of hot! A hot that I had NEVER experienced before! And within those seconds of realizing those two things I had to let go of the pot and it didn’t have anywhere to go but on me! Long story truncated: It was hot cooking oil in the pot. By the grace of God, it missed my face but landed all over my tummy.
Girl, let me tell you, I was straight-up rushed to the ER with some third degree burns on my stomach! Can you believe it? And get this, my whole top layer of skin was gone because it was stuck to my shirt like super glue. Ooh, child, it was painful. They had me in this tub of ice water with a sponge scrubbing away at me. I swear, I’ll never forget that feeling.
Now, I’m extra careful when I’m cooking with hot oils. I don’t want to go through that again. And let me tell you, my parents were not happy with me. Shoot, they were downright furious! They said I was being disobedient and putting myself in harm’s way by not listening. But you know what? They were right. I should’ve listened to them in the first place.
Let me tell you, honey, did I learn my lesson from that whole ordeal? Not even close. All I got from it was to listen to my parents in the kitchen and to be careful with that hot cooking oil. But let me tell you, I missed the bigger picture.
The real lesson here is that when you’re disobedient, there are consequences that can be deadly. It’s just like with God, you know? He warns you, guides you, and asks you to stop when you’re doing wrong. But if you keep on disobeying Him, He will get angry and you will suffer the consequences of your actions.
Now, disobeying your parents is one thing, but disobeying God is a whole different ballgame. Your parents may still comfort you even when they’re punishing you, but with God, you can’t hear Him anymore. He won’t comfort you because you were in the wrong. You have to repent, ask for forgiveness, and seek Him out if you want to make things right. Leviticus 18:4Â
Now, listen up, y’all. We’ve all been there – guilty of disobeying God. You know what I’m talking about – when the Lord asks us to do something, and we give Him the old, “I’ll do it later” or “I don’t see why I have to do that.” Heck, some of us even ignore Him or pretend like we didn’t hear Him in the first place.
Let me tell you, God does not take kindly to that kind of behavior. No sirree, He gets mighty angry when we disobey Him. And I don’t blame Him one bit! He’s trying to guide us, help us, and protect us. So when we ignore Him or push Him aside, it’s like we’re saying we don’t need His help.
So let me give y’all some advice – listen to God. Trust me, it’s in your best interest. He knows what’s best for you, even if you don’t see it right away. And if you’ve already disobeyed Him, it’s not too late. Just ask for forgiveness, and start listening to Him from now on. Ephesians 5:6
Listen up, now. God has a message for you – He simply asks that you obey. It’s as simple as that. He speaks to all of us, honey. And if you truly listen, you will hear Him.
Now, don’t go blindly following others, hear me? Listen only to His voice. He speaks in many ways – through the Bible, through other people, through your heart. But if you’re not obeying Him, you won’t be able to hear Him as clearly.
God loves you, girl. He wants nothing but the best for you. So do your part, glorify His name, and make Him proud by obeying His word! Stop being disobedient and start obeying. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
