The Broken Cup

Romans 12:1-2, 9

The cup slipped from Janelle’s hands and crashed to the floor. “Oh no!” she gasped. And then she said a swearword under her breath.

“Janelle Munson!” exclaimed Grandma, who was washing dishes while Janelle wiped them. “I’ve told you not to say words like that.”

“Oh, Grandma, it’s not a bad word,” protested Janelle, picking up pieces of the broken cup. “Everybody at school says it.”

“I don’t care who says it,” answered Grandma. “It’s still wrong to talk like that. Now, when you’ve picked up all the pieces, sit down at the table.” Grandma left to get a tube of glue. “I want you to put those pieces together again,” she said as she entered the kitchen.

Janelle worked a long time. Finally she was finished, but the cup didn’t look like it had before. There were small crack lines everywhere. “Grandma, is this good enough?” she asked. “I can’t make it look any better.”

“No, you can’t, honey,” agreed Grandma. “But after the glue hardens we’ll be able to use it again. You know, to God our lives probably look a lot like this cup. We all do wrong things. And each time we do, there are consequences. The consequences are like the cracks in this cup. A consequence might be the sick feeling in your stomach when you know you’ve done something you shouldn’t have.”

“Or like the scar on my finger from when Mom told me not to touch the hot stove when I was little, but I did anyway?” asked Janelle.

“Yes,” answered Grandma. “Even though God promises to forgive us for the wrong things we do, we have to live with the consequences.”

Janelle looked at the cup. “But it’s so hard not to do what the other kids are doing.”

Grandma nodded. “But Jesus can help you choose to do right.”

“Grandma, maybe this should be my cup every time I’m here at your house—just to remind me to do what is right,” suggested Janelle.

“That’s a great idea,” Grandma replied.

How about You?

Do you follow the example of your friends only when they’re doing the right things? When what they’re doing is wrong, ask Jesus to help you resist the temptation to join in. Trust him to help you do and say the right things.

Memorize:

“Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good.” Romans 12:9