A couple of nights ago, K got out of bed after she had been tucked in...a big "no no" in our family. From the top of the stairs she called, "Mom-my..."
"Why are you out of bed?" came my reply.
"Well, Mommy, my brain keeps telling my body to get up and walk around for no reason. I am not sure what to do about that."
You have got to give her points for creativity.
My other favorite excuse, I hear fairly regularly from P when confronting him about something he has done.
"P, did you --insert naughty behavior here--?"
"Well..." he'll stall, "I didn't see myself do that."
A friend was telling me today about her favorite little kid excuse. Just as this 4 year old boy starts to do something he knows he shouldn't he'll hold his hands up and say to his mother, "Mommy, don't see me doing this, OK?"
Isn't that the way sin so often works in our lives? We blame our brains that told us to do something, seemingly before we could stop ourselves. We deny that we could be capable of something because we just couldn't see ourselves doing that. Or my personal choice (I am not bragging here, I am confessing) I say a quick prayer of acknowledgment that I know what I am planning is less than God's best, but I hope He'll somehow avert his eyes for a moment.
I find this especially true with my mouth. I have long prayed for the Spirit to put a filter in my mouth to stop my tongue from causing trouble...and yet, sometimes, when the Spirit convicts me that what I am thinking or planning to say shouldn't pass the filter, I plow right on through anyway. The filter of conviction is there--the self control is not.
That is sin nature. And while it is somewhat cute and humorous at 4 or 5...I don't think it is at my age.
"It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different."
Romans 7:21-25 The Message
2 comments:
I was a preschool teacher for many years and I was always amazed at some of the excuses those little ones could come up with! It leaves no doubt in my mind of original sin!:) Several of my pupils over the years would put themselves in Time Out after some No No. At least they were policing themselves. lol..
Great post. I too am guilty of asking for forgivness just as I am about to do something wrong. Today I am going to meditate on self control. I'll be praying for you, too.
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