Right before I left the office this afternoon, my cell phone started ringing and the caller ID revealed that it was my wife. However, when I answered the phone it was not my wife on the other end but rather my six-year old daughter. Usually whenever she calls, the conversation begins with her saying “Dad, I want to tell you something.” I have come to expect some kind of story about an event which happened at school or maybe an attempt to get her brother in trouble for something he did. It was neither of these. Instead she shyly informed me that she got a magnet put up on the board today at school. I’m sure you have no idea what that means so let me explain. Getting a magnet (with your name on it) stuck to the board is equal to getting your name written on it; in other words, she got in trouble. Lexi is no stranger to impropriety, but this is the first time she has received punishment in the classroom. Apparently she was talking to someone, a boy as I later found out, while the teacher was talking. The boy to whom she was talking was the same little twerp who gave her his phone number a few months ago with all the numbers written backwards. When we asked Lexi about her reaction to putting the magnet on the board, she confessed that she cried. If only she could have seen past the moment to the potential aftereffects.
People tend to get themselves into trouble when they cannot see beyond the immediate action to the possible consequences which lurk around the corner. We really do live in a “fun now, think later” culture where individuals indulge in whatever they believe will make them happy and deal with the aftermath at a future time. After all, isn’t that what spelled the demise of Adam and Eve? Instead of heeding the warning of God, the first human beings embraced instant gratification ultimately throwing the entire human race into sin (Romans 5:12). Was it worth it?
Is it worth it?
