The First Son

“A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.  The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” (Matthew 21:28-31)

 

Welcome to my world.

I have been reminded of this passage of late, as Jacob figures out the consequences of his words and actions. Too often, we have scenes like this in our home:

Me: Jacob, time to pick out stories for bedtime.
Jacob: Noo!

And then he goes to the shelf and picks them out.

Me: Jacob, time to clean up your toys.
Jacob: Nooo!
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And then I throw a toy or two in the bin, and he follows suit.

I suppose I should be grateful that he is living the role of the first son, the one who obeys and “does the will” of his parent—eventually. I understand that this stage is a normal one, and it doesn’t happen all the time, which is good.  Still, it makes us do silly things, like trick Jacob into eating his food with threats of consuming it ourselves:

Me: Jacob, please eat more of the [fill in food here] on your plate.
Jacob: No.
Me: Okay, then Mommy will eat it.
Jacob: No!
Me: All right, is Jacob going to eat it?
Jacob: Yup.

I wonder, how old were the sons in that story? They had to be more than toddlers to work in the vineyard. That worries me—how long will this go on?!