dar334

“Don’t take that bowl in the living room because you’ll spill it all over the floor” said Grandma.  “No I amn’t!” responded the sweet little 4 year old.  Her response had barely left her lips when the sound of M & Ms bouncing off the floor was heard.

Disobedience.  My google search resulted in this definition from Mr. Wester:  the failure or refusal to obey rules or someone in authority.  We’ve all been disobedient, we all will continue to be disobedient.  The hard part is when we have to pay the consequences for disobedience, and generally consequences are not pleasurable.

In the above example of disobedience, the consequence that followed should have been that after gathering up the M & Ms from the floor, they would have been deposited in the garbage.  But, as I’ve heard before, we will eat a lot of dirt in our lifetime.  So after a quick glance for a stray hair, the M & Ms were put back in the bowl.  Maybe I didn’t teach a good lesson, but I’m the Grandma.  And she was cute.  Justification.

The first act of disobedience that I can recall was when Eve ate that apple.  From there it has continued to spiral downhill.  Granted, there have been times, when after paying the consequences, we seemed to be back on track ….. but it never lasts long.

What I fail to understand is why are we surprised when the consequences hit?  Why do we then continue to disobey?  Rules and laws are made for our own good.  They are often made to protect us from harm.  So why, after disobeying that speed zone and getting a ticket, are we upset and cast the blame on someone else, or stoop to justifying our reason for disobedience.  “Officer, I know I was speeding.  But it’s hot and my ice cream was melting.  That makes it OK right?”  Wrong.  Oh the hurt of paying a traffic ticket.  When we sign our name in agreement to a rule, we do so with the knowledge we will not keep that agreement.  We sign our name to get what we want knowing we will not uphold our end of the agreement.  But if the other party doesn’t uphold their end, then we are mad, we are hurt.  And what really creams my corn is when we continue to pick at that scab, the scab that formed after the hurt, the scab formed to protect the wound while it heals, yet we continue to pick if off, thus reopening the wound.

People, let the wound heal.  Stop picking the scab off.  The infection WILL spread.

-dar