Parenting is tough. There are lots of responsibilities and trials that must be addressed on a daily basis. But there are also many rewards. As they grow up, you are blessed to see the many changes they go through. Perhaps there is nothing more rewarding than to see your child mature and begin doing the things he or she ought to do. Each stage of growth presents its own unique challenges. One of the most interesting times is what I would call the inquisitive stage. The child wants to know "WHY" everything is like it is. And then there are the "What does … mean?" questions. Some of these are easy to answer while others cause you to stop and think about what the answer really is. It is during this time that we find ourselves uttering the title phrase of this article. Children want to know why do they have to clean the room right now; or why they can't do this; or why they have to go here? And sometimes even though you know the answer, you also know that they will not understand it if you do tell them. At times a child needs to simply hear "Because I said so!" instead of a course in economics explaining why you don't have the money right now (You know, it's not a simple "We don't have the money", because they then inquire about the credit cards and checkbooks that you continually pull out to buy things.) Children do not understand that ordering them to clean their room is not just for cosmetic reasons, but to teach them the importance of neatness in life, organization and responsibility to complete even unpleasant tasks. And yes there does come a time when "Because I said so" is not good enough. But it is a needed "tool" in parenting. And in other avenues of life too.

As we study the Bible, on numerous occasions God gave commands without explanation as to why. And in many instances the commands were not logical. But if the desired result was to be achieved, obedience was necessary simply "Because God said so!" Consider Adam and Eve in the garden. He gave them one negative command, "…but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it, you shall surely die." (Genesis 3:16-17). It is given without explanation other than the warning of punishment if they disobeyed. Why did God not tell them more? Why did He not explain more of what would happen if they ate? The truth is we don’t know why, but we do know that HE SAID SO and that was enough. Why was Israel commanded to march around the city of Jericho thirteen times before God gave them the city? (Joshua 6:2-7) Why was Naaman commanded to dip in the river Jordan seven times to be healed of his leprosy? (2 Kings 5:8-10) Why did Jesus command the blind man of John 9 to go wash in the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem? (v.7) Why were Paul and Silas forbidden from preaching the word in Asia? (Acts 16:6). We can only speculate as to why these specific commands were given. We do know that as far as we are concerned, the answer to all of these is BECAUSE GOD SAID SO! With all these examples, and many others, we should be willing to accept whatever God tells us to do, simply because HE SAYS SO.

As we study the Bible, we come across numerous commands that we may not understand, but we must do them simply BECAUSE GOD SAYS SO! For instance, we are commanded to be baptized to be saved. To many this does not make sense. But that does not change the fact that GOD SAYS SO! Consider 1 Peter 3:20-21 where Peter compares our salvation to that of Noah. He specifies the element, water. We read, "There is also an antitype which now saves us-baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Note that God through Peter tells us we MUST be baptized. So what does water have to do with salvation? It is the simple fact that GOD SAYS SO!

One might ask what is wrong with the church engaging in general benevolence such as building homeless shelters, hospitals, food pantries, and the like. The answer is found in the lack of authority for such in the Bible. The New Testament outlines what the work of the local church is to be. It consists of worshipping God by assembling together, supporting the preaching of the gospel, edifying its members through teaching God’s word and very limited benevolence among Christians. God has said what the church is to do and that limits us to doing only those things. When we consider the examples above, we understand that God does NOT have to list everything that is forbidden. So when we are asked why we do not engage in general benevolence the answer is BECAUSE SAYS SO through His silence.

Why is it that many that are divorced have no right to remarry? When we consider Matthew 19:9 where Jesus taught, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." We learn that God ONLY accepts the right of the innocent party who puts their mate away for the cause of fornication to remarry. This passage has been twisted in every imaginable way you can think of. But the fact remains that many who are divorced have no right to remarry BECAUSE GOD SAID SO!

Why do we need to assemble whenever the church meets? The Hebrew writer exhorted his audience to "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25). Through inspiration, he tells us what God’s will is: to be a part of a local church and support that work by assembling with the saints at every opportunity you have to do so. And this agrees with all that the New Testament says about the relationship we ought to have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. So when you forsake the assembling of the saints together, you are sinning. Not because I say so, but BECAUSE GOD SAYS SO!

We ought to do everything God tells us to do and obey every command He has given us. Even if we don’t understand why or don’t like what we are told. When we stand before God on the day of judgement we will answer to Him for the way that obeyed His law. (John 12:48, 2 Corinthians 5:10-11). If we are condemned we will have no one to blame but ourselves. And when He says to us "Depart from Me, I never knew you", you will realize that you have missed heaven and will spend eternity in Hell. Why? BECAUSE GOD SAID SO!!!