A Tale of Two Pranksters

Children's foolish behavior is still sin...and Jesus paid for it all.

We have a set of large wooden blocks. It’s essentially a giant Jenga game. The kids will sometimes play Jenga as it is meant to be played, but mostly they use the blocks for building towers, or they strew them about the house and jump from block to block in ninja warrior fashion.

Well, one Sunday afternoon, two mischievous children were playing the ninja-obstacle-block-jumping game when one child decided to place a thumbtack, pointy side up, on one of the blocks. She strategically set it into place when she was around the corner and out of sight of her unsuspecting opponent. It was a perfectly executed prank that had dire consequences. The brother’s grubby foot came down hard on the tack. The wailing that ensued was indeed dreadful.

The wound was tended to, and little sister was disciplined swiftly and with gusto.

Later that same evening, our family was having dinner on the deck. It seemed that the events of the afternoon had long been forgotten as smiles and laughter filled the air around our gathering. However, the brother had stealthily crept away, filled a gallon jug with ice cold water, and reappeared only to pour the water over little sister’s head with rapidness and accuracy. She was completely caught off guard, and her screams echoed off the backyard cedars for all the neighborhood to hear.

When the brother was expeditiously penalized, he heartily protested and refused to take ownership for his actions. He insisted the tack prank was far worse because of the injury it inflicted, whereas water is harmless.

That’s an argument quite well thought out for a young child. Is one prank worse than another? Perhaps. Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Stepping on a tack brought bloodshed! Then he sought revenge. Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” When boiled down, the heart attitude from each of the children was the same - an attempt to bring harm to their sibling.

Sin is still sin no matter how petty. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” According to God, a violation of any part of the law is violating all of it. How can you poke a hole in a balloon and say that only one part of the balloon is broken?

God is so holy that He cannot tolerate wrong. All sin committed is committed against God. He has set the moral standard, and breaking even one commandment results in being separated from Him.

The Good News is He doesn’t let us stay separated. He confronts and punishes. He does not leave the guilty unpunished. He will stand against all sin. He will punish all sin. It is God’s righteous decree that those who do evil deserve death. God confronts us in our rebellion. If He did not confront, He would not be the Holy God He claims to be. Once the sin is justified, we are no longer separated from God.

He will not turn a blind eye to our sin. He won’t pretend He doesn’t see what we’ve done. How many of us moms have done that? I know I have. It’s easier to pretend I didn’t see a child being sneaky than to stop everything and deal with the transgression.

I have theorized that Cain and Abel had a history of anger and disagreement. Perhaps their parents showed favoritism to one or the other. Murder doesn’t usually happen because of a single incident. The two brothers must have fought again and again. Maybe they played pranks on each other and tried to outdo one another in seeking revenge.

Our children need the Gospel as much as anyone. They can understand that God made the world and He made us to enjoy Him and bring glory to Him. They can understand that we have not followed His rules and have not valued a relationship with Him. We’ve made up our own rules which lead us to do things like hurt or frustrate our brothers and sisters. But God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin. Then He defeated death and rose to life. He did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.

When we teach our children the Gospel, the Holy Spirit will begin to work in them to develop self-control. The Good News of Jesus helps us all to see others as Christ sees them, and, therefore see the value in honoring others. We begin to see ourselves as royalty, part of the Kingdom of God, and we gain confidence. When we are confident in who we are, we are better able to honor others, not necessarily because they deserve it, but because we maintain our dignity and royal identity. Royalty doesn’t put tacks on a footpath or dump cold water on someone’s head.

Maturing takes time, though, and there is no guarantee kids won’t engage in sibling rivalry while they’re growing. Don’t be discouraged when your children do foolish things. It is important for us mamas to bring correction, and keep our children accountable. Teach them to own up to their sin and to ask for forgiveness from both God and the human they sinned against. We are preparing our kids for a life where they will face God for themselves in judgement. There is a very real eternity ahead of them that is no prank. Let’s help them gain a great reward.