Spirit Convincer

This little orange tree lives in my neighbor's yard across the street. Small, but produces oranges. We live a block from the Middle School, so youth pass our street every day. Last week my husband and I noticed there were green oranges in our front yard. Hummmm?


The next day I sat by the window, no not like a crazy old lady, but because our computer is in the front room by the window and I was writing. (just for clarification.) I wanted to see if my suspicions were correct. The cars lined up for the kids and then came the kids. Throwing oranges happens all the time around here with all our fruit trees. I wanted to take up for my neighbor's baby tree.


Sure enough about 4 middle school boys gathered around our corner and pulled oranges off the tree to toss them into our yard, or so it seemed. One of the boys even went and talked to a mom sitting in her van waiting for her child. I thought she told them to stop. Nope. The boys picked up more to throw. So I sent (teehee, like how I did that?) my hubbie out to tell them to leave the little tree alone. (My neighbor treasures his yard-but works in the afternoons.)


To our shock, one of the boys jumped in the van with the mom and they took

off. That was a biggest surprise of all.



The kids picked oranges only to throw into the old culvert, that tempting dark hole in front of our house. But what did that mom do? What did she teach?


"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Matthew 7:5


Then before night came, the Spirit Convincer spoke in my heart. Don't you do the same? Do you speak critically of others and laugh when others do too? Don't you get annoyed when others irritate you? Don't you turn the other way to avoid a confrontation, to wrong a right? Do you practice everything you want others to do?


I can no longer "judge" that mom. Excuse me, I have something in my eye.