Ok, I’ve got more than one habit that I’m sure Jami and the kids would be happy to tell you about… but this habit has to do with me taking my seat belt off as soon as I turn onto our block. It’s something I haven’t done in years. And, I’m not even sure how it started. I just know that when I was in the middle of this habit, it just automatically happened… I didn’t even think about it.
At the time, there was another person who knew I took my seat belt off – Carter, my then three year old little boy. In fact, he began taking his seat belt off early and standing up in the back seat riding and singing as loud as he could. We’ve told him over and over that he couldn’t do that because it’s not safe for him. But, still, he did it “because daddy did it.” His own words… throwing me under the bus. Turned out that I had become a stumbling block for my three year old in the area of his seat belt life!
That got me thinking – I know, it’s dangerous whenever that happens – but it got me thinking. One, my kids’ eyes are always on me. Two, a lot of people’s eyes are on me. Three, I don’t want my freedom to do what I want to do to cause my children to stumble – even when it comes to wearing a seat belt. Four, I don’t want my freedom to do what I want to do to cause others to stumble. I just don’t want that to be on me.
Check this out:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.1 Corinthians 8v9
Even though it was perfectly ok for me to take off my seat belt (unless the PO-leece had seen me), we told little Carter he couldn’t. But when he saw his daddy take his seat belt off, it became ok for him to disobey. It really has nothing to do with the actual seat belt (or insert something else), it has to do with my attitude of wanting the best for Carter and for others.
It’s the Law of the Seat Belt. I’ve got a choice – to pick others up, or stick my foot out to trip others up. I choose to buckle my seat belt.
