41. Silliness, clumsiness, temptation or sin?

– Françoise: Hello Leah, Hello Paul. – Leah: hello – Paul: Hello – Françoise: Welcome to the studio. Everything is ready, Elisio is at the sound desk, everything is fine, we are happy to see him. So we will answer right away the questions of the day. – Paul: Can you tell us what is the difference between doing something silly and sinning? Is it the same? – Françoise: Do you have an example of having done something silly? – Paul: Yes, one day I was playing football in the garden and I shot very hard, the ball went to the neighbours’ house. – Leah: Did you break something? – Paul: No, but the ball hit the hood/bonnet of the neighbour’s brand new car very hard. – Leah: So what happened? – Paul: I went to see him and explained what happened, he was very angry and I was very upset, I asked him to forgive me. – Françoise: Yes, it was a mistake. You didn’t do it on purpose; you didn’t send the ball on purpose to damage the car. When you do something stupid, you apologize and when it’s possible, you repair the damage. Doing something silly is a bit like making a mistake …We don’t do it on purpose, we don’t intend to hurt, to injure, to do harm. – Paul: So it’s not sin? – Françoise: No. – Leah: And when we are tempted, we sin? – Françoise: Do you have an example? – Leah: Yes, a friend of mine told me to look at a website where there’s a lot of weird, rather disgusting things. Almost everyone in the class looks at it. The other day, I was home alone, so I felt like looking, I was really tempted. – Paul: Did you watch? – Leah: I hesitated for a while and finally did something else to take my mind off it. I really wanted to watch so that others wouldn’t make fun of me, but I knew that you shouldn’t, it’s images that stay in your head and then it’s hard to get rid of them, it even comes back at night. – Françoise: You were tempted but you resisted. – Leah: So I didn’t sin? – Françoise: No! You didn’t sin. – Paul: So, what is sin? – Françoise: Have you ever heard that little voice telling you “it’s wrong”? It’s a bit like a red light that comes up and tells you “stop”, “don’t continue”, it’s our conscience. It warns us that there is danger but it’s up to us to listen to it or not. – Leah: It is God speaking to us? – Françoise: Indeed, it is as if God is warning us about what is wrong, and will make us and others unhappy. If we do not listen to this voice, we sin because we refuse to obey God who tells us what is best for us and for others. – Leah: If we say things that are not true about a friend, for example, we are not hurting God, are we? – Françoise: Well, we hurt the friend and we sin against God: we say “no!” to what He tells us, we place ourselves above Him. God tells us not to lie, not to spread wickedness, but to love, so if, voluntarily, we decide to disobey Him, we rebel, it is as if we turn our back on Him. God knows the consequences for us and for others of our bad deeds, our bad choices, our evil intentions, he warns us to avoid them. – Paul: If we don’t obey, it puts a distance between God and us, doesn’t it? – Françoise: Yes, just as there will be a separation, an uneasiness, a distance between friends. What is needed for them to be friends again? – Leah: For them to ask for forgiveness. – Françoise: Yes, you have to tell them that you’ve done wrong and ask for forgiveness. You also have to commit not to do it again. We must also tell others that what was told was not true. – Paul: Is God sad when we sin? – Françoise: Yes, He is saddened; our relationship with Him is broken. To restore the relationship, we must ask for His forgiveness and decide to do everything we can to avoid doing it again. Tell me, when you disobey your parents, what happens? – Leah: They get angry and sometimes punish me. – Françoise: Is it right or wrong? – Leah: I think it’s fair, I deserve it. – Françoise: If someone steals, he must return what he has stolen. If someone is sentenced to prison, he pays society for the evil he has committed. This is justice. But how do you pay God, how do you make amends? It is not possible. That is why Jesus came, he is the one who was punished in our place. – Leah: Is that why he died on the cross? – Françoise: Yes, He took our punishment so God can forgive us. – Paul: What if I do wrong again? – Françoise: Doing what pleases God is not always easy, but God sees our desire to please Him, and do what He wants. He loves us, He is not going to reject us, but on the contrary, He is going to help us, to journey alongside us. We continue to learn, we grow and God is patient with us, like a good father. Did we answer all your questions? – Paul and Leah: Yes, thank you Françoise, we better understand now. – Françoise: Thank you both for coming and see you soon for another episode and new questions!

1, 2 3, 4 AND YOU AND ME! After these exchanges between Françoise, Paul and Leah, I suggest that you take some time to think quietly about all this and why not listen to the program a second time. Also take time to pray, to talk to God. Soon we will hear the story of a rebellious child who has voluntarily decided to turn his back on his father. One day he decided to come back but will his father welcome him? Will he forgive him? That is what we will see. So let me say/ See you soon on “1, 2, 3 STORY TIME”

4, 3, 2, 1 AND WE PARENTS! Beyond deeds, beyond words, we are invited to carefully consider our intentions, our secret thoughts. It is not always easy to see clearly, but the stories of the Word of God help us because we often find situations similar to those we are living. Let us help our children examine their hearts, without dramatizing or exaggerating minor or imaginary faults, and let us encourage them to trust Jesus. It is up to each of us to draw near to Him and encourage our children to do so.