Exorbitant Freedom

The second definition for the word license, listed in Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary is: "Excess of liberty; exorbitant freedom; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum." This Christmas we were given 2 new and exciting gifts: a Wii and a Magic Bullet blender. It has resulted in my children's license to play and eat whenever they so desire. And it has caught me off guard and quite unprepared for the impulsive behaviors. The guidelines we set for the Wii have been tested to the limit and I have been witnessing new aspects of each of my children's character traits. This toy is definitely a temptation for selfishness. Same goes for the blender. Who would have thought smoothies would turn into the candy of the day! I asked my children if they would be allowed to eat a bag of candy without permission. In unison, "no". But the desire for smoothies all day long has become like the bag of candy. Except messier. (That is my own pet peeve because I do like my kitchen to stay clean between meals, so I have been especially irritated by the smoothie requests). We have had enough 'teachable moments' for an entire year already, and we're only 3 days into the new year. Yikes! At times like this I feel like we have holes in our training that are peeking through as weakness shows itself. Kind of like when I roll pizza or pastry dough too thin and the thin dough rips. It is hard to patch up and makes the finished product weak at the bottom.

I don't know what the end result will be with these new toys. I am sure the newness will wear off sometime (if we don't get pulled into buying more games for the Wii) by the end of this year.

1 Corinthians 10: 23-24 is a completely perfect passage of scripture for our family to memorize:
"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." I think the kids will come to understand this passage in a very real sense. At least, that is my hope.