“Quit Playing and Come Here!”

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One day last week I was doing a bit of shopping when I heard a woman’s voice nearby say, “Quit playing and come here!” It was one of those moments when I experienced a small slice of a bigger story. It is not up to me to say whether the statement was appropriate or inappropriate for the situation.

Perhaps a child was dawdling. Perhaps a child was disobeying an earlier direction. Perhaps a child was innocently being a child.

Perhaps a mama or grandma or aunt or babysitter was inappropriately impatient. Perhaps her expectations were too high for the circumstances. Perhaps she had not given appropriate instructions in the first place. Perhaps she was appropriately firm after a child didn’t obey the first time.

With that in mind, I still believe the statement has a lesson behind it. I believe the “come here” part is completely appropriate under the right circumstances, but the “quit playing” part made me squirm a little. The tone of voice made me uncomfortable. I know I could be wrong, but my immediate thought was that she was condemning a child for doing something completely understandable. While disobedience is something to be corrected, playing is not.

Jesus came to earth to do the most important work that any person has ever done.

For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will,
but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:38

And Jesus did that most important work all the time. In the midst of that, it was fine for Him to stop and “play.” He went to the wedding at Cana in Galilee. He dined with Pharisees and with tax collectors and sinners and with His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He invited His disciples to:

“Come away by yourselves to a secluded place
and rest a while.”
(For there were many people coming and going,
and they did not even have time to eat.)
Mark 6:31

So, in my humble opinion, the next time I am in a situation similar to the one that lady was in, I’m going to try to remember to say “come here” with kindness and leave off the “quit playing.” I’m thankful for Jesus’ example teaching me that it is okay for me to play, too.

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