Every five weeks, I serve in the toddler nursery at my church.  These kids (2-3 yr olds) are surprisingly well-behaved and extraordinarily cute.  Two of my favorite little boys are aging past 2, which means they’re starting to recognize me now.  You’ve experienced that joy, right? the kind that warms your heart when a child’s face lights up as you enter the room?  It touches the heart like little else.  Anyway, on this particular Sunday I was serving along with a young married couple.  I let them do the leading, and was amused by their method of communication.  Something happened that caused me to think about my own sinful state and I’d like to share it here…

During snack time, one little boy, Jacob, decided that he was finished drinking his water.  So he just dumped it out on the table.  He looked around like, “What’s the big deal? I’m finished.”  It was funny to me, however, he was gently reprimanded for his actions by the husband.  As the other half dozen two year olds watched this whole scene, it was quiet… for about five seconds.  And then a small voice… “I don’t do that!” followed by similar encores.  I couldn’t help but relate the situation to grown-ups.  See if this makes any sense as it leaves my brain and flows through my fingertips onto a keyboard and ending on your screen…

We are born judging others.  No one had to teach these kids to proclaim their own innocence when someone else was caught in error. They look at a person caught in sin – they look at their lives – and they proclaim themselves innocent, conveniently ignoring all those times they have committed the same sin or worse.  Making such judgment calls creates distance between the Judger and the Judgee. And friends, I’m sorry to say it, but, we don’t grow out of this just because we learn to read.

Some people state, “I was born this way!” as an excuse for their bad behavior, and they’re partly right.  We are born sinners.  However, for those who have repented from sin and entered into a relationship with the Lord… we now have a choice.  Christ died to free us from sin.  Is He too weak to break those strongholds in our lives?  Are we so in love with ourselves that we would break the unity of the Body by pointing fingers?

Thoughts I've been considering this week.

(You‘ll be happy to know that I refrained from dumping out water on my desk while writing this.  See?  I’m waaaay more mature than a two year old. *pats self on back*)