Friday March 11
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
There’s a joke and it goes like this:
One day a boy came walking home from school. On the way home he saw a creek. He quickly jumped in, clothes and all. When he arrived home completely soaked, his mom asked, “What happened?” “I jumped in that creek down the road,” the boy said. “Why did you do that?” his exasperated mother asked. “I dunno,” he said. The boy’s mom was angry and said “If you jump in that creek again, there’ll be consequences, do you understand?” The son replied, “Yes, mama.”
The next day, the boy came walking home from school, and sure enough–when he saw that creek, he jumped right in. When he went home, his mom knew what happened and asked, “Didn’t I tell you not to jump in that creek?” The boy said, “Yes mom, but Satan told me to do it!” His mom, being a good Christian woman, decided to give her boy the benefit of the doubt and told him, “Next time Satan tells you to do something like that, you tell Satan, ‘Get behind me Satan, in the name of Jesus’.” The boy said, “Ok, mama, I’ll do that.”
The next day after school, the boy was walking across the bridge, and well…. you know the rest. He came home again soaked. When his mom inquired, the boy said, “Mama, I told Satan to get behind me, but Satan pushed me in!!”
Evil hates laughter, because laughter shows that joy exists. So, today I offer this cute little story to remind you laugh. Consider laughing next time you pray. Consider laughter as a form of prayer. When you next feel faced with evil, see if you can find something funny. Even if you keep the funny to yourself, it might just help your mood.
God, thank you for our sense of humor. Thank you for laughter. Thank you for joy. Help us to minimize the evil around us. Amen.
–Dawn Sorensen