You Don’t Mess With God’s Family, Jack

I recall once when my (now 18-year-old) son, Trey, was maybe seven or eight, and some old man at Barnes & Noble popped off to him. Trey came to me in tears, telling me what happened, as my blood pressure spiked. I stormed over to the man, who had a couple magazines set aside for himself. I picked one of them up to look at it, figuring this would aggravate him enough to speak to me.

“Put that down, that’s mine!” he spat.

I don’t recall much after that. Trey said my face turned blood-red and I started yelling, “Is that what you told my son when you made him cry, old man?!” Laura, my wife, said, “I’m not getting arrested because of you!” and grabbed Trey’s hand and walked out while I continued to yell at the old man. Lord help me, I lost it.

You don’t mess with my family, jack.

The “Barnes & Noble incident,” as it’s come to be known in my family, wasn’t the most godly of responses, I’ll admit. I am a very passionate person, and when I seen my little boy crying, I lost control. I have a little more self-control now, but would still defend friends and family when needed, no questions asked.

Still, if I can be that protective over my family, how much more do you think God is protective over you? He’s not some combat boot in the sky, waiting to squash you at the first sign of wrong-doing. It may seem like we’re alone at times, but the Lord is keeping score. “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book (Psalm 56:8).”

Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

“But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind (2 Thessalonians 3:3).”

And finally, one of my favorite scripture passages in the Bible…

^“How that wicked man devises evil against God’s righteous ones! He grits his teeth, consumed by hate for the upright. But oh, how the Lord laughs at him! He knows the wicked man will get his; the day is coming. The wicked unsheathe their swords, pull taut their bows; the poor and needy are their victims, and evil is on the prowl to kill those with integrity, God’s beloved. But their swords will bend back to pierce their own hearts—yes, their bows will snap in two. The righteous are better off with the little God blessed them with than living under the curse of the wealth of the wicked (Psalm 37:12-16).”

So rest easy, God’s got your back.