Not me!

Me: Who spilled the water and left it on the counter?

Child #1: Not meeee!

Child #2: NOT me!  Nooooottttt meeeee!!!

Me thinking: "Nobody" did it.

Me:  Who left their dirty clothes out in the bathroom?

Child #3: Not me! NNNoooooottttt MEEEEE!

Child #4:  NOT MEEEE!

Me thinking....again:  Nobody did it.  Again.

Me:  Who ____________________?

Child #1: Not me.

Child #3: NOT ME!

Me thinking....yet again:  Not anybody.  Nobody. Nobody always does it, don't they?

If you're a parent, or deal with children at all, most likely you have had a conversation like the ones I've written above.  I often say to my children after one of those types of conversations, "I didn't ask who didn't do it.  I asked who DID do it!".  I want the answer and the truth.  Sometimes the one who did do it stays silent, but usually the guilty party confesses to the issue.  Now that they're older, thankfully, those conversations don't come very often.

This funny little word plaque in the picture was at a hotel where we stayed on a high school girls softball trip in Oklahoma City.  I snapped this picture right before something terrible.....and funny happened.....so it made it extra interesting.

Some of the girls were sitting under a wall fountain in the hotel lobby.  When one of them was helping another one get up, a shoulder accidentally bumped the wall fountain and it fell off of the wall, crashing into two of the girls, spilling the water and rocks, and essentially breaking the whole thing.

We were in shock.  Could. NOT. MOVE.  Another mom and I were unsure of what to even do.  We just looked at each other, then rushed to help the girls, then went to tell the hotel personnel.  Of course we all felt terrible, but the girls were especially embarrassed and a few of them were actually in pain.  We laughed, but not because we thought it was funny that something broke....just the fact that what had happened really did happen.  The girls most likely would have liked to say that word quote:  WHATEVER IT IS, I DIDN'T DO IT!  (*The fountain was repairable!  Yippee!)

It's human nature to want to shy away from situations that will show us as guilty.  We don't want to deliberately mess up or fail.  We don't want to be wrong.  If someone is in trouble, and momma or daddy is coming to find out, we certainly want to be the one that didn't do it, don't we?  So "nobody" gets the blame.

When Stephen spoke to the Sanhedrin as recorded in Acts 6 - 7, he told them the whole gospel of Jesus - beginning with Abraham and right to that present time - when they had rejected Jesus and murdered him.

The people were furious!  They demanded that Stephen be stoned for his words.  It was if they were screaming out to him and to God, "Whatever it is....We didn't do it!!!" But they did do it.  And then they murdered again.  Stephen was stoned.  What a sad day.

My husband often uses the quote, "If you mess up, 'fess up!"  In other words, admit it when you do wrong.  Don't be afraid to take the blame for something done wrong.  Yes, it's difficult to admit it at times, but it's a lot worse to try and cover it up.  Lying about it only makes things worse.

So, whatever it is......if you did it, say it or if you did do it.....Admit it.  And if you didn't......blame your sister :). (Not really, of course!)

A truthful witness gives honest testimony,

    but a false witness tells lies.

Proverbs 12:17