Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak

We are reading a golden oldie this week - Where The Wild Things Are is widely held up as a children storybook classic and is now over 60 years old! If you have never heard of this then here's the info...

Max is a little boy who pops on his wolf costume and proceeds to wreak mischief of one kind and another until his mother calls him "A Wild Thing!" and he is sent to bed. During the night he visits the place where the Wild Things are and is made their king until he returns home after many years, just in time for dinner.

This book is so relatable to parents and children alike. The wild child who has gotten out of hand. The parent metering out consequence and the wonderful distraction of a time out which helps to placate the child and bring them back from wildness.

If only all discipline ended this way. The hours I have spent sitting toddlers on the time out mat only to hear them scream at the top of their lungs "Zero Tolerance ruins lives!" and for me to scream back "Yes, but so does bad behaviour so you'll thank me later!"

Which brings me to the human truth of this beautiful story - we get angry. Max's response to his mother in the story when she points out how wild he is being is to shout "I will eat you!" (never cross a wolf.) He doesn't lovingly turn around and thank his mother for the wrong that she has pointed out and change his ways. He gets angry, and then goes off to his room and justifies his anger. And while I may not own a wolf costume (more's the pity), how often I do the same.

Our ability to get angry is something else. We can somehow find any reason, not just to be angry, but to stay angry. The other day I was shouted at in a supermarket car park for taking someone's parking space - they shouted at me as they pulled their car into the free parking space next to the one I had just parked in, and despite the fact that there was no reserved signs anywhere to be seen - I checked. But I am the same, the other day I got annoyed by 'someone' not putting their shoes away on the shoe rack, and then spent 15 minutes looking for my own shoes which were under the sofa (which is not where I keep the shoe rack.)

We are so quick to anger. 'Someone' winds me up daily. If only they could be more like me... sigh!

So what does the Bible say about all this anger? Well, brace yourself, cos we're not going to like it...

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1v19-20

I mean, what can I say? I am the equal and exact opposite of this verse - slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to anger. There's probably not a lot more I could do to disobey this verse. And part of this problem is because I don't desire what adhering to this verse would give - I don't want to be righteous, I want to be right.

And as quick as I am to get angry with others, I do not, in any way, want God to behave like me - thankfully He doesn't behave like that even though I may deserve it;

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 108v8-10

God IS quick to listen and slow to anger. His patience with His wayward children is endless. Not that He lets sin go, He cannot. But He is pateint and compassionate with those who are His, the Bible says He is waiting for all those who are lost to come home.

Nothing translates better to raising small humans than this need for patience and slow anger. Whether you have children of your own or not, they are so prolific that you are bound to come across a few in your week. And they will test you! From the noise in a church service to the battle for the Time Out mat, they will test you!

How wonderful then to know that our own heavenly father is patient and kind to us even when we are behaving like wild things. How amazing to be able to model that patience and kindness to those who are behaving like wild things, knowing that it bring righteousness that God desires. We love God's innate ability to be slow to anger, it is very much to our advantage! But we need to love righteousness even more. Being known as someone who is slow to anger in the face of wildness is a true witness to the power of the gospel in our lives. It is a true example to your own wild things of what is better. In truth we all live where the wild things are, our job is to be an example of how to live less wild, not join them!