Don't Put Your Bottom
Don’t put your bottom on other people’s faces. #ThingsYouSayToBoys
Yep. Just like that, I said those words to my boys and laughed as I sent it out on Twitter with the appropriate hashtag as you see above. Why? Because this had just happened...
Son One is laying on the living room floor next to me. We’d been wrestling around in a good natured father-son sort of way. Now he’s laying there giggling. Son Two walks by and must think, “Wow! There’s my brother’s face on the ground. Why don’t I sit on it?” Standing over One, he lowers his bottom so quickly One can't react fast enough. And there you have it.
While holding back laughter, I pronounce, “Don’t put your bottom on other people’s faces.” Comical as it is gross. Son One wasn’t hurt. Son Two, thankfully, broke no wind in the process. We laugh together at my fatherly "Don't..." pronouncement.
Looking back at this, it made me think of encounters in our grown up world. Life is fine. Everybody it getting along well. And then someone tries to put their bottom in another person’s face. An opinion is misplaced. An attitude is too strong. An argument leaves reason. Sounds like Facebook, right?
Our face-to-bottom encounters remind me what Scripture teaches.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Next time your tempted. Keep your bottom in it’s place. Remember: Don't put your bottom on other people's faces.