He Misbehaved!

I watched in the typical motherhood horror as my 7 year old chose to misbehave on the basketball court. He's the middle boy in our set of "my three sons" and he loves sports. Every time a sign up sheet is passed around for a sport ... Yep, he signs up. And so, we were at the local Y for an afternoon basketball game. My husband was coaching his team and I was sitting in the bleachers ... pretending not to know who the little boy throwing a fit was.



But, he's mine. He didn't get the ball as many times as he wanted, he got pushed around by a few kids bigger than he is and (when he finally got his hands on the ball) he missed the shot. He had a lot to complain about but chose the WRONG time and place to voice his frustrations.



Beings that my husband is the coach, he took our 7 year old out of the game ... put him on the bench next to me. I gave him a stern "you're in big trouble" look and he got even more upset.



I was mad ... really mad! How on earth could my kid behave that way? Why would he think it was ok to act out like that? AND ... most of all ... didn't he realize everyone else could see his behavior? All the parents, relatives and fans saw him on the court throwing a fit.



So, now I'm home and thinking about it a little more. I do that pretty often ... think (or stew over) things my kids do. Please tell me other parents do that too ... you do right?



Anyway ... I'm thinking ... as Christians we do that same sort of thing. We're on the "court" called life. We want to be in the game and we want "the ball". The ball is different for each of us. Some of us want a job, others want a spouse, maybe some of us want children and others might want more money. In our effort to gain "the ball", we hurt others ... we end up trying to get what we want and step on other people in the process.



While we're out there trying to get what we want, other people are watching us. They see our behavior. They see us being mean, acting ugly.

Do you think God ever looks at us and says ... Why is My kid acting like that? Doesn't she know better ... doesn't she realize other people are watching?


The Coach takes us out of the game and gives us the stern "get your act together" look. And ... then ... He loves us. He doesn't stay mad and He doesn't make us feel like we're the worst player on the team.

I gave my 7 year old a hug and told him he needed to do better next week.

So, how are you doing out on the court?

Philippians 3:14 "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."