Jacob Bembry, Editor
She had done it to me before but never had she put me in the predicament I now found myself in. “Uh-oh,” I thought, “I’m going to go to jail.” I could see the headlines emblazoned across the front of the newspaper, “Editor Arrested.” Then I thought, maybe we could send her to jail. After all, evidences of the crime were on her mouth. The judge would probably release her on her own recognizance. Me? The judge would probably keep in jail.
I looked at my hands. All the evidence a prosecutor would ever need to prosecute me was in my right hand.
I looked at Abbie, who looked perturbed that I had taken the Twix bar out of her hand before she had finished eating it. We were in Winn-Dixie and I had just paid for my items and I did not have enough money left to pay for the candy, which Abbie had picked up in the line. She had opened it and started munching.
We were now criminals. Should we take it on the lam or should we turn ourselves in? I made the executive decision to do neither. Instead, I turned to a superhero. I had one of the store managers page my younger brother, Super Danny, who was also in the store.
Faster than a speeding bullet, Danny arrived on the scene and paid for the candy bar. All was once again well in Metropolis.
I told Abbie not to do that again, but I can’t really fault her. She was hungry at the time and that candy bar looked so good to her. She did not realize that I did not have the money to pay for it. Other times, I would let her eat something in a store and take the wrapper and pay for it at the checkout counter.
Sometimes, there are temptations that look so good to us. Like the gold and red-colored wrapping on the Twix bar that Abbie took, they are bright and shiny. When we yield to temptations, they become sins and sins have consequences. When Abbie, who knew no better, took that Twix bar, there was a consequence. It had to be paid for and, fortunately, Danny was in the store to help us out with it. Sins have to be paid for and, fortunately, we have an advocate there for us also. Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins. When we mess up, He is there to help us, but He tells us to resist temptation and not to yield to it.
The consequences we face when we sin can be much more overwhelming than the consequences of the Twix bar Abbie picked up in the store.
Please visit www.jacobbembry.us for “Jacob’s Ladder” and other writings by Jacob Bembry.
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