Just Kidding

Bible Reading: Proverbs 12:17-22

Gabe sauntered into the house, letting the back door slam behind him. Raindrops glistened on his hair. His brother Emmett met him at the door. “You borrowed my bike,” he said. “Did you put it away?”

“Nah,” said Gabe with a wave of his hand. “A little rain won’t hurt it.”

Emmett dashed out to rescue his bike. Soon he returned. “You made me get all wet!” he said. “You did put my bike away, but you said you didn’t! You lied!”

Gabe laughed. “I was just kidding!”

At dinner, Gabe watched his sister take a bite of salad. “Nia,” he said, “there was a bug on that piece of lettuce you just ate. Did it taste good?” He laughed as she ran to the sink and spat out her food. “Just kidding!” he said. “And you fell for it!”

Dad put down his fork. “Apologize to your sister,” he said.

“It was just a joke!” said Gabe, but he offered a half-hearted apology.

After supper, the rain stopped. “Let’s go outside, Gabe,” said Dad. “I’ll teach you how to throw a curve. What do you say?”

“Great!” said Gabe. “I’ll get my ball and mitt.” When he returned, thumping a baseball into his mitt, he found Dad sitting in the living room with his laptop. “Let’s go, Dad!” he said.

Dad looked at him and laughed. “Oh, I was just kidding about playing ball,” he said. “I have work to do.”

“Dad!” Gabe’s face turned red. “You lied to me!”

Dad closed his laptop. “But I just told you I was just kidding,” he said. “It was a joke. You understand that, don’t you? I’ve been hearing you say things like that a lot lately.”

Gabe looked startled. “Oh. I—I guess I know what you mean.”

“All your kidding and joking around has really gotten out of hand, Gabe,” said Dad. “And what you said just now is right—if I don’t go outside with you, I will have lied.” He stood up. “I will go out, of course, but first I want you to tell Emmett and Nia you’re sorry—but only if you really are!”

Gabe nodded and left the room in search of his brother and sister. – Valerae C. Murphy

How About You?

Do you do a lot of kidding or joking around? Be careful. Don’t use kidding as an excuse for lying or do mean things to others and call it a joke. When that happens, it’s time to confess it to God and ask Him to forgive you. Then apologize to anyone you’ve hurt and ask them to forgive you too.

Today’s Key Verse: Ephesians 4:25 (NLT) Stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth.

Today’s Key Thought:

Don’t lie