Red and blue lights flash behind you. “Uh, oh! We’re in trouble!” Mom says, as she pulls the car over to the side of the road.

If you have ever had a police officer stop someone in your family, you know it is kind of scary. What will happen? Will you get a ticket? It is never fun to be in trouble, and sometimes the punishment seems unfair. “Mom wasn’t being dangerous,” you might think. “She had to go fast because we are late!” But it doesn’t matter what you say, they will probably give her a ticket anyway. Being angry won’t help, will it?

Have you ever wondered why there are patrol cars on the roads? Yes, it is to keep us safe and help people remember to obey the laws. Driving would be much more dangerous if there was no traffic patrol! No one likes to get pulled over. It is never fun to get a ticket. But sometimes that is the only way to help drivers learn. And once they learn to obey and be safe on the road, patrol cars aren’t scary anymore.

What about you? You don’t drive a car, but you do make choices to obey and be safe, or not. And just like there are traffic patrol on the road, God gives us “behavior patrol” in our lives. Most often it is your parents that have the job of “pulling you over” when you are misbehaving. When you know you are in trouble you might feel scared or angry. But it won’t help to run away or try to defend yourself, will it? The best thing to do is to stop, listen, and submit. Submitting is like paying a ticket. It isn’t fun to give up your own way, but it is the only way to learn a lesson. If you get stubborn and argue, you will probably get in worse trouble!

Correction is needed in our lives. It reminds us what we should be doing and protects us from more trouble. It is also called “reproof.” Proverbs 15:32 says, “he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” When you get into trouble or someone corrects you, it is time to learn something! A police officer might pull someone over to remind them to fix their brake light, and God might send us sickness or disappointments to teach us good things. He wants us to trust Him and come close to Him in our troubles. If you do, you will learn that reproof is not so scary.

Do you think it is hard to be corrected? Actually, punishments get much harder the older you get. It is important to be quick to listen and submit now! Spankings and skinned knees are small consequences compared to broken homes and broken health. Watch the lives of older people and see if you can learn from them. Most of all, learn to trust God’s patrols so He can keep you safe!