Kids and Supper.
You never know what’s on the menu—and I’m not talking about food. I speak of the delectable dialogue that often spills on to the table (along with the occasional glass of milk).
The other night over dinner, our daughter and son-in-law engaged the family in a conversation about the gospel. Eleven-year-old Josie was there. So were Caleb, age seven, and Lucy, who is five. It wasn’t long before someone quoted Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and….”
Boom! At that precise moment in the verse recitation—before they could go any further than that first phrase—Lucy interjected, “But Caleb the most!”
While five-year-olds are not generally known for their tact, Lucy's mouth has a near-legendary capacity for articulate assault. And there it was: Lucy's assessment of her older brother’s sin record: “the most.”
Might be fun to drill deeper with Lucy. Does she mean Caleb has the most sins of any of her siblings? More than anyone in her entire family? Or is she thinking more globally—as in Caleb has the most sins of anyone on the planet?
The story takes a deeper dive into comedy when you grasp the truth about Lucy. For most of her first four years, if Lucy were unhappy with her older brother Caleb, she would bite him. And not just a little. It grew to the point where poor Caleb would warn strangers entering their front door, “hers a biter.”
James’ warning to “remove the plank from your own eye before complaining about the speck in another” comes to mind.
Indeed, "All have sinned…." Including me. Including you. Including Lucy.