When my oldest boy, (now married, and living in Springfield with his new bride)
was just a little tot of three or four years, he taught himself and his
daddy a lesson about truth and consequences. We lived in an apartment in
Fairfax, VA, and had neighbors living above us and below us. It was quite a
challenge to keep our energetic children quiet, and to prevent them from
disturbing our neighbors. One day, Nathan decided it to bounce a ball in the
livingroom. Almost immediately, I advised Nathan that we could not bounce the
ball in the house, because we lived in an apartment, and therefore, we must
be considerate of our neighbors. Moments later, Nathan was again bouncing the
ball in the apartment. Quite sternly I told my son,Nathan, don't bounce the
ball in the apartment! If you do that again, Daddy will have to give you a
spanking! Not five minutes had passed, and I heard that annoying ball bouncing
AGAIN! The day of grace was over... Nathan was going to get a spanking. I
entered into the room where he was and said, Nathan, Daddy's going to have to
give you a spanking for disobedience. You bounced that ball again, after you
were repeatedly told not to do so!As I took him by the arm with one hand, and with paddle in the other -- raised and
ready to paddle, Nathan cried out, "But Daddy, I didn't bounth (lisp) the ball!"
There was no one else in the apartment ... the ball definitely bounced again.
"I am sure I heard that ball bouncing again, Nathan, and there is no one else
here to bounce it but you. Now, your punishment will be greater because you
are not telling me the truth."Nathan looked up at me in those big, hazel eyes (partially obscured by his
blond-brown hair), and spoke with his three-year-old lisp, "But Daddy, it
bounthist by itself!," he exclaimed. He appeared to be sincere. It was all I
could do to keep from busting inside out with laughter. How could the ball
bounce by itself, Nathan, that's impossible! He took me back to where the ball
was and said,Here, I'll show you. He proceded to pick the ball up from the
floor, held it directly out in front of him with both arms extended, and let it
fall to the floor. Bounce....bounce.... bounce...You see, Daddy, it bounthist
by itself!
The truth was, he did bounce the ball. He did disobey his Daddy. He did (even
at three years old) bear false witness. The consequence was that he was
corrected, loved, and forgiven by his Daddy. Many people today sincerely think
that they are going to heaven, despite never taking seriously that there is a
righteous and holy God that will judge them for their sin. Perhaps you do not
want to take full responsibility for your own sin. You touch a little bit. You
drop a little bit. You keep bouncing along, thinking everything is O.K. Apart
from salvation which comes by repentence and faith in Jesus Christ, you might
be sincere... but you are SINcerely wrong. Put your trust in the Son of God
today, and be sincerely right.
"Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel,
but not of me;... that they may add sin to sin:" -Isaiah 30:1
