Published 9/5/19
By Greg Johnson
What If...
You and your sister both like music... a lot! You each have your own I-Pod that you constantly have plugged into your ears.
The problem, from your point of view, is she has a better I-Pod than you. Hers has stores way more songs. She got it for Christmas last year. It was a big present, true, but she didn’t get much else. You, on the other hand, have an older model Dad used to use when he ran.
You have asked to borrow her I-Pod on a number of occasions, but it’s still too new and she was still uploading her music. She doesn’t even want to take it out of the house. Well, one day when she is staying late at school, you want to listen to one of the groups she has on it. Dad is at work, and Mom is on an errand that will take about an hour. You think there won’t be any harm in bringing your sister’s outside while you shoot hoops. You know how to operate it, and this way, you can get a little practice in while listening to music. Everything goes pretty well.
While you’re rebounding a shot, the I-Pod falls out of your pocket, the ear phones come off, and it hits the cement. There is no mark, but you can’t get it to work again. This is really bad news. You suddenly realize something really wrong. Quickly heading back in the house, you put it back in place in your sister’s room. No one will know I did anything, you think.
To make a long story short, your sister soon realizes her I-Pod is busted and she confronts you. Though you deny it the first time, when Dad gets involved you tell the whole story.
Questions to Think On
• Though it was an accident, what would you do to make things right?
• Should you be punished for what you did, both breaking the I-Pod and then denying it?
• What would you want to happen if your little brother or sister did something like this to something you valued?
• Can you think of a way something like this could have been avoided?
What Does God Have to Say?
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:17-18
Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.
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