Amen!

We all know that children can, unwittingly, make us laugh at times. From an inner chuckle to a tear-trickling good old belly-laugh, they often say the funniest things, and all because they misunderstood what they heard!

A mother was teaching her three year old daughter "The Lord's Prayer." For several evenings at bedtime, she repeated it after her mother. One night she said she was ready to solo. The mother listened with pride, as she carefully said each word right up to the end..."And lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some e-mail. Amen."

Yes, they listen intently and then manage to repeat it wrong, anyway.

While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, a minister heard the intoning of a prayer
that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin.
Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said:
"Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goes!"

Children delight in imitating adults, they work at it with a passion. Witness little girls playing dress-up and little boys walking around in their dad's shoes. They hear adults talking and try to visualize what the words all mean.

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed between the pages. "Mama, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

Yes, once misconceptions occur, corrections must be made. But, still it's often funny.



Six-year-old Maggie and her four-year-old brother Johnny were sitting together during church services. Johnny giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had enough. 'You're not supposed to talk out loud in church.' 'Why? Who's going to stop me?' Johnny asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, 'See those two men standing by the door? They're HUSHERS.'

So, there you have it. Sometimes, we need a designated 'husher.' We need to be reminded that not everything we hear needs to be repeated. We need to make sure that if it is edifying enough to repeat, that we get everything straight first.

The difference between adults and children is simple: when we tell something, even exactly as we 'heard' it, real damage can be done. It's not as funny when someone's character is tarnished. It's often difficult to repair such damage. Yes, sometimes, we need a 'husher.'

Fortunately, we have One. The Holy Spirit often urges me to, "think! before you speak." Unfortunately, I do not always listen to Him in the heat of the moment. And then, I find that I may have gotten it off my chest, but in doing so, I have put a ripple in the wave of continuous fellowship with the Father. Repentance is swift, forgiveness swifter, but still the physical damage is left to repair.

I know I would be better served to, "think---before I speak, and hurt one who overheard, and make him sad."

Let's all resolve to get the facts straight before we repeat something we've heard, first and foremost. Then, let's make absolutely certain that it's even helpful to repeat it at all. Maybe, just for a laugh, we could all say nice things, and strive to be kinder than necessary.

Just remember, gossip is still like the childhood game with the same name. You remember. We all sit in a circle and, one-by-one, we whisper a word or two into the ear of the person next to us. The phrase usually changes dramatically from the first person (who wrote it down for verification) to the last one, who proudly announces it. And that, my friends, is how "door bell," turns into "we're all going to hell!"