Getting to the Heart of the Ring Pop

The kids were outside playing and I took a few minutes to prep lunch and wash a few dishes.  As I walked by the back door, I saw my youngest sitting in a box on the deck.

How cute I thought and went to grab the camera.

My little man spotted me.

I went back to my chores and then noticed he had moved.

This time he was on the other side of the door and had set up a barricade with another box.

Having the wool pulled over my eyes by him before, I decided to stop and watch.

Clearly he did not want me to do this.

I realize these pictures look a little blurry.  This is not because of a fault in the camera.  It’s because my windows are quite filthy.  But, if you can get past the grime, what do you see?

A ring pop.

Now, I have to tell you that I had no problem with him eating a ring pop.  It was his and he had gotten it in his goody bag last weekend.  He had even asked if he could take his goody bag outside.  (He didn’t ask if he could have a ring pop, but I assumed he would partake of said pop before long).

My issue is that he apparently thinks he can’t have the ring pop and he is eating it anyway.  And the reason I know he thinks he can’t have it is because he is going to great lengths to try and hide the ring pop from me.

I let this scenario play out for awhile to see where it would lead. 

A little while later he put the ring pop down in the box and came inside… sticky hands and all.

I asked him what he was doing in the back yard.

“What I doing?”

Yes… what were you doing outside?

“playing on the playground”

“Really?  You were playing on the playground?”

“Yes”

“What else were you doing?”

hesitation… not meeting my eyes “just playing”

“What were you doing in the box?”

no answer

“What were you doing in the box on the deck?”

breaking eye contact  and no answer

“Why are your hands sticky?”

Still no answer

FINALLY, after more questioning and more lying, I was able to get to the heart of the issue and get him to tell me the truth.   I explained to him that not telling me the truth was a lie.  And lying is wrong.  And because he lied he couldn’t have the ring pop. 

I don’t think he really understood all of what I was saying, but it opened my eyes to the need to be more observant to the teachable moments in his life.  And it reminded me of the state of his heart.  Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”