Conversation with a 17 year old who had just hurt his ankle playing basketball.Me: "Do you want me to get a saw?"Him: "Why?"Me: "To cut off your foot."Him: "What?"Me: "The bible says if your eye is bothering you, pluck it out. So I say if your foot is bothering you, cut it off. It's biblical."Him: "The bible doesn't say that."Me: "Yes it does."Him: "Where does it say that?"Me: "It's in there a few times. One place is Matthew 18:9."Him: "I'm going to look it up."Me: "OK. Next time you see me, let me know you found it."A few days later.Kid: "I found it in the bible."Me: "What?"Him: "About taking out your eye if it bothers you."Me: "So next time your ankle is hurt, you'll cut off the foot?"Him: "That's crazy."Me: "But it's in the bible."Him: "I don't think it means that."Me: "What does it mean?"Him: "I'm not really sure."Me: "Things in the bible can mean a lot of different things. That's God's word, it's powerful. One thing it can mean is if you have a bunch of friends, and one of them is a bad guy, like he says "hey, let's steal some cigarettes" or something, you should stop hanging out with him. He's leading you to do bad things that will get you in trouble and hurt you."Him: "You're telling me about the people who sneak into the gym, when I open the back door for them."Me: "I didn't mention them. You mentioned them. You have to think about your own actions and your own friends. That's not my business. But the Bible is written for you personally. It's a good idea to read it."Him: "I'm going to read it more."Me: "Good."
@fcabanski:
What a wonderful story and lesson.
Great job!
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