Corner Column

Posted 5/20/21

Maybe it is being so close to the miracle that is creation which often gives children special insights. Or, maybe it is just the unvarnished truths which they so easily, and unabashedly, voice.

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Corner Column

Posted

In the second half of our lives, my wife and I were blessed with a child. 

Maybe it is being so close to the miracle that is creation which often gives children special insights. Or, maybe it is just the unvarnished truths which they so easily, and unabashedly, voice.

As our young one’s kindergarten class winds down, so too do the Sunday School lessons for the season.

The latest project of Sunday School class was to learn the Ten Commandments. She did well and memorized them. 

Driving home one recent Sunday and wanting to determine how much of the Ten Commandments she understood, we asked her to explain each commandment. Her answers were so illuminating that, upon arriving home, I asked her again and recorded the answers.

Her answers follow verbatim.

I am the Lord thy God, thou shall not have strange gods before me.  

“It means that there is nothing that you can’t share. Well, strange Gods mean don’t fight over anything, that means that that is more important than God. I’m going to show you an example. If you don’t share this marker (she went and got one of her dry erase markers), you are now making the marker more important than God. Sharing is more important than anything because nothing is more important than God. God is more important than anything in this world.”

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

“Don’t say God’s name when you are angry. Like, like, like, I’m angry, don’t say it. Don’t say it when you’re angry, when you’re grumpy, when you are not in a good mood, don’t say it.” 

Remember to keep holy the Lord ’s Day.

“Go to church on Sunday. And if you are sick just don’t go to church. If you are really sick just stay home and watch mass on the television.” 

Honor thy father and mother.

“Do the things that your father and mother tell you. You still stay calm. You have to do things that they want you to do, because it’s good for you.” 

Thou shall not kill.

“Don’t kill, and as an example, don’t hurt somebody else’s feelings. Like when somebody does something wrong to you, you don’t do it back to them. You just keep it in your mind, but don’t do it back to them to teach them a lesson.” 

Thou shall not commit adultery.

“Oh ya, don’t be somebody else’s mom and dad. This is the family: Bella, me, you and momma. And you and momma are not going to wander off and be somebody else’s boyfriend or girlfriend. Ya, you keep the family together like a full pack.”

Thou shall not steal.

“Don’t steal other people’s things, or don’t steal other people’s properties. Like don’t steal what they need, don’t steal their food. Don’t steal things that aren’t yours.”

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

“Don’t hurt somebody against them. Don’t have a feeling against them. Don’t have a feeling that is coming back on them. Don’t lie to other people. Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t hide the truth, just tell them that you don’t want to say it right now. They can get a little older before you say it.” 

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

“Don’t be jealous. Don’t want what somebody else has. If somebody else has a big, big bouncy ball, and I don’t, I am not going to want what they have. In fact, maybe I have things that they don’t have – like a whirly-gig.” 

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

“Don’t covet things that are somebody else’s. Don’t want what somebody else has. Don’t want their kitchen stuff, good furniture, toys, machinery.” 

For all the teachers of Sunday School in the many churches of Wood County, thank you for bringing to our children the basic truths of faith. Enjoy your summers!