The classroom was buzzing. At...
Illustration
The classroom was buzzing. At recess, the two sixth-grade classes would play for the soccer championship of the school. It wasn't official soccer by any stretch. Everyone in the class played on the field at the same time, and about the only rules that were enforced were "no hands" and "no body checking or tripping." But each spring, the upper grade classes, the fifth and sixth grades, played each other to see who had the best class team. Today was to be the big game.
However, sometime during the morning, the teacher's favorite flower vase was broken and nobody was confessing to the crime. The teacher warned that there would be no soccer game that afternoon unless the culprit stepped forward. As the morning melted into afternoon, the uneasiness of class became palpable. Finally, Michael put up his hand. "I did it," he confessed. There was a collective gasp. Michael had not done it; everyone knew that. He had been restacking a pile of books by the back library when the vase fell. Yet Michael confessed and during the big game that afternoon, he sat on the bench -- outside the principal's office.
When asked why he confessed to something he didn't do, Michael, whose arm was in a sling from an earlier fall, said, "I couldn't play anyhow. I didn't see why everyone else had to miss all the fun."
Similarly, Paul wished he could be cut off, so that his people could enjoy the blessings of God.
However, sometime during the morning, the teacher's favorite flower vase was broken and nobody was confessing to the crime. The teacher warned that there would be no soccer game that afternoon unless the culprit stepped forward. As the morning melted into afternoon, the uneasiness of class became palpable. Finally, Michael put up his hand. "I did it," he confessed. There was a collective gasp. Michael had not done it; everyone knew that. He had been restacking a pile of books by the back library when the vase fell. Yet Michael confessed and during the big game that afternoon, he sat on the bench -- outside the principal's office.
When asked why he confessed to something he didn't do, Michael, whose arm was in a sling from an earlier fall, said, "I couldn't play anyhow. I didn't see why everyone else had to miss all the fun."
Similarly, Paul wished he could be cut off, so that his people could enjoy the blessings of God.
