Kids bring out the best and the worst in me.
I love kids – when they are cute, sweet, cuddly, behaving well, and doing what I tell them to do.
But today, I had to yell at some 8th graders. I lost it. They did not respond to any act of kindness and I had to resort to threats. I honestly couldn’t stand those boys! Afterwards I felt bad about my behavior. I don’t like myself very much when an ugly side of me is displayed openly.
I usually think I am a nice, reasonable person. I’m not a murderer. I am not a prostitute. I am not a drunkard, adulterer, nor child molester. It would be easy for me to become a Pharisee and think that my own righteousness can get me into heaven.
While I certainly don’t like to be faced with my own weaknesses, it is a good thing that God shows them to me. When the hatred in me was expressed to those kids, it reminds me that I am just a sinner, like everyone else.
I am brought once again to my knees to the cross of Christ, and I appreciate the grace and mercy that he extends to a sinner like me.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”