REFLECTIONS

Seeking Attention

Mrs. Bennett could not contain her laughter. What made it awkward was that she was not supposed to laugh at all. Richie’s antics were not supposed to be funny, but Mrs. Bennett found humor in them and was seldom able to contain herself. Tears from suppressed laughter would roll down her cheeks as she searched for her ruler to give Richie a few raps on his knuckles. All Richie wanted was a little attention but the way he sought it disrupted our 4th grade classroom and he could not go unpunished. Mrs. Bennett had to enforce the rules.

So Mrs. Bennett would dutifully impose the penalty, Richie would shed a few tears, and the class would resume with everyone trying to pretend nothing had happened. But something had happened. A ten-year old boy had misbehaved just to attract attention and no matter how cute he was in doing it, he must be punished for it. But for Richie the attention was worth the pain.

Perhaps someone can psychologically explain why Richie was in such need of attention that he would subject himself to physical punishment to receive it. He knew the rules but chose to disregard them. His antics may have been cute in another setting, but he dishonored the classroom, disturbed the other students trying to take their studies seriously, and deliberately violated the rules of conduct to attract attention. And from time to time, don’t we all.

There seems to be something within us that seeks attention. It becomes all about us while it’s supposed to be all about God. So we face the times when God must remind us know that he is The Lord. He showed Adam and Eve in the garden, he showed the Hebrews when Moses was leading them out of slavery, and he showed Israel and Judah when he sent them into exile. And he will remind us when we get too much into ourselves.

When Richie disobeyed the rules to call attention to himself, Mrs. Bennett rapped his knuckles while trying to hide tears of laughter at the antics of a ten-year old boy. When we disregard the rules, God raps our knuckles too while hiding tears of pain. For us He sacrificed his only Son so then we will know that he is The Lord. And for him the pain was worth it.

He gave us eternal life.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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