"You killed her!"

So I was driving along the other day, taking Ethan home from school. He was settled in the back seat (he likes to be chauffeured) watching Ice Age 3 on his portable DVD player, completely absorbed. I saw a bit of a commotion up ahead where a car had stopped and the female driver had come out and was yelling at 3 little girls. They must have done something terrible to get this reaction. The lady got back in her car and sped off and the girls laughed. As I approached the same spot, I noticed that these same little girls were hiding behind a parked car at the place I was going to pass them. I slowed and went carefully, not knowing what to expect. As I passed that parked car, I watched my side view mirror and saw a little girls hand slap my car making a loud "thud." She then flung her body down in the road making it appear that I had hit her and her 2 little friends, on their knees started holding their heads and screaming bloody murder. I of course, knowing that it was a prank kept driving slowly, but Ethan sat up and turned around, not being aware of the situation and started screaming, "you killed her! you killed that little girl!"

Even after I explained it to him, he wasn't believing me until a moment later when he could see that she had gotten up and the 3 of them were laughing. If he had not have seen that, he probably would have gone through life thinking that his Dad had killed some little girl. I am glad he saw the truth before we turned the corner.

On the road of life, we encounter those who love to play games... dangerous games. They are pretty good at catching those in the back seat unaware and twisting reality. There is always an end-game that they have in mind which requires capturing the attention and the hearts of those who did not see it coming. They blame, divide, dishearten, accuse, slander and they are very committed and patient in excecuting their plan.

The motive often involves trying to gain power or resources, not just after school fun as was the case with these little girls. Many years ago, I did hit a man with my car who purposefully put himself in my path while I was going slow because he was positioning himself to somehow exact money from me, either with a cash settlement on the spot or through the legal system later.

For me, the case of the 3 school girls are just another reminder to watch out and to be alert at all times. Often, the Lord will bring little funny events into life like this to remind us of what is lurking up ahead in the more serious issues. And He of course also allows these funny but serious events to occur to shed light on situations which have occured in the past.

Proberbs 18:17 (TNIV) "In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines. "

This scripture is specifically about lawsuits but it applies in other cases as well. The point? Be careful when you have only heard one side of a matter. The Church is a breeding ground for slander and malice because instead of there being a legal system of governance, friends usually side with friends which makes it more like a school yard setting. Let's be more careful shall we? My experience tells me that usually after I've heard both sides, that I really can't be the judge and I need to leave it to the Lord without taking sides.