I ran across this tonight in an old email I received a long time ago. I don't know who wrote it or when, but it's really good stuff for us to remember as parents and mentors. Here you go.
Some years ago, I walked into my office after a Sunday morning
service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate
brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for
chocolate had placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a
short story written on it. I immediately sat down and
began eating the first brownie as I read the following story:
Two teenagers asked their father if they could go to the theater to watch a
movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews
about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request.
"Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated
PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!"
Dad replied, "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality
as being normal and acceptable behavior."
"But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie! That's
what our friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two
hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total
film! It's based on a true story and good triumphs over
evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage and
self-sacrifice. Even the movie review websites say that!"
"My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are
welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and
watch one of the good videos w e have in our home collection. But
you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion."
The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down
on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the
sounds of their father preparing something in the
kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking
in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad
must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with
some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise
when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that
movie after all."
About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and
wondered if there was some connection t o the brownies I was eating and the
brownies in the story. I kept reading...
The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a
plate of warm brownies which he offered to his kids. They each took
one. Then, their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell
you something: I love you both so much."
The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was
softening.
"That is why I've made these brownies with the very best
ingredients. I've made them from scratch. Most of the
ingredients are even organic. The best organic flour. The
best free-range eggs. The best organic sugar. Premium
vanilla and chocolate." The brownies looked mouth watering, and
the teens began to become a little impatient with their dad's long
speech. "But I want to be perfectly honest with you.
There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I
got that ingredient from our own back yard. But you needn't
worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your
brownies. The amount of the portion is practically
insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think."
"Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we
eat?"
"Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a
teaspoonful. You won't even taste it."
"Come on, Dad! Just tell us what that ingredient is."
"Don't worry! It is organic, just like the other
ingredients."
"Dad!"
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is
organic...dog poop."
I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the
waste basket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful of the
paragraphs that still remained.
Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began
inspecting their fingers with horror.
"DAD! Why did you do that? You've tortured us by
making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell
us that you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!"
"Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the
rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been
cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't even taste
it. It has the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead
and eat!"
"No, Dad. NEVER!"
"And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that
movie. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why
should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray that
God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience
entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful image in our
minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it?"
I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire untouched
third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute ago had become
detestable. And only because of the very slim chance that what I was
eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...but I couldn't
convince myself)
What a good lesson about purity!
Why do we tolerate any sin?
On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit
of leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit
leavens the whole lump. (1 Corinthians 5:6-7)
A
Christian Patriot
Hosea
4:6
Dead on isn't it?
Strength and Honor,
-S
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