So, how’s this for a bad day? A 62 year old man from Boise, Idaho was recently hit by a truck while crossing the street. Fortunately, Ebrahim Balah only suffered minor injuries from the accident and was treated and released from the hospital the same day. Boise police say he was hit by the passenger truck because he was trying to cross a busy one-way street in an area designated as a non crossing area. Which is why they felt it necessary to give him a ticket for jaywalking.
Now, I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that getting hit by a truck may have been consequence enough to keep Ebrahim on crosswalks from that point forward. Did he really ALSO need to be slapped with a ticket?
I know as a parent that sometimes the best consequences for my kids are the ones that come naturally as a result of their actions. For example, I can remind my kids 12 times in one morning to remember to wear their coat to school. I can punish them by taking away privileges when they forget anyway. But, standing outside at the bus stop on a cold morning, or freezing on the playground that afternoon is probably all the punishment they need to remember their coat next time.
Most of us have to learn things the hard way, don’t we? And when we’ve messed up and are feeling bad enough already, why does it seem there are so many people who feel it is their duty to rub salt in the wounds of the consequences we created? And, why am I so tempted to finger point and say “told-you-so” to others when they mess up?
Listen to this verse:
1 John 4:20 – Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
The way we treat others is a reflection of the depth of our relationship with Jesus. We need to remember that God has given us infinite amounts of Grace and we need to mirror that grace in the way that we deal with others.
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