Perhaps the dilemma is centered in the fact that we want to be our own ultimate authority. Nobody likes to be told whatever they should do, especially if you see it differently. This could be some of the trouble with discipline in schools? When a teacher decides whatever punishment they want to give is just, it is possible to abuse that authority. So our attempts to resolve extreme discipline is to give more rights to kids. But take this authority away too far and a typical response from a young student to their teacher is, "whatever!"

Judges 21:25 NLT says, "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."

The problem with Israel in those days was that they didn't want God to be their king. And because God had not yet granted them a king, all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Fast forward the clock and God sends His Son on the scene, to show us the love of the Father. He says to us in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the Father except through me." Nobody can do whatever they want on earth and expect to get into Heaven (God's home) when they die. When we believe in Jesus and trust Him for His saving grace, everything changes and whatever you have done is forgiven - John 3:16. That is good news!

Now that I love Jesus and long for His growing friendship, I still find there are opportunities to do whatever I want. There was a time where Jesus cried out to the Father, "not whatever I want but whatever you want..." Matt 26:39

It's sobering to realize that whenever I don't want to bend my will to whatever God wants in every given moment, I'm just another little school kid exclaiming "whatever!"