It was 1949. I was in the second grade. Obviously my teacher knew nothing about Freud’s theory of child development proposing that at the age of seven little boys find little girls to be detestable. We had double desks and at each desk she seated a little boy and a little girl. My seatmate had just discovered the supposed enhancement of feminine charm by wearing perfume. I hated it and expressed my displeasure by asking if she was wearing, “An Evening in the Sewers of Paris.” Instantly I was stabbed in my left arm with a newly sharpened pencil. The graphite tattoo is still visible seven decades later. What a different world we live in. Today she would have been charged with assault. Then, the teacher blamed me for my smart mouth.
As I look at the mark I am overwhelmed with the permanent results of our behaviors. Each action whether positive or negative has lasting impressions on who we are and who we are going to be. Things done that have long ago faded from our memories manifest themselves in our decisions, small or large. How often do we excuse ourselves with the comment, “It’s no big deal”? It is bigger than we know.
It is wonderfully true that God is merciful and will forgive anything. He will look at us as if we had never sinned. Our brains are not that gracious. Each of us is the accumulated fruit basket of a lifetime of choices. Character building is our challenge. If we today are generous, polite and kind, we will be a different person tomorrow. Paul so wisely wrote, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 20, 2017
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