There are times in our lives that we hear a whisper telling us something is right or wrong. Some call this your conscience; some call it the Holy Spirit. Movies and cartoons depict an angel or demon sitting upon our shoulders giving advice. The trick is to listen.
There is a young man coming to fifth grade next year who is autistic. When we think of children with autism, the spectrum is so large the label can just about encompass any behavior under the sun. This particular child has a problem with stealing. If he sees something he wants, he doesn't have a part of him that tells him he can't have it. He doesn't understand that it belongs to someone else and stealing is wrong. Instead, he has perfectly rational reasons for taking things. To him, his excuses make perfect sense.
He stole money off of a teacher's desk because he wanted to buy something at the book fair. He said he NEEDED the money. Then he stole rubber bands and said the teacher never used them so it didn't matter. He also has stolen simply because he saw something he wanted, and since he wanted it, he should have it.
Without understanding this child and his disability, you may just think the kid is a brat who doesn't want to listen to guidance. Actually, he doesn't have the angel or demon on his shoulders. There isn't a functioning part of his brain that tells him stealing is wrong, at least not like ours.
The reason for this rambling? Leviticus 10! Aaron has four sons. Two didn't follow the guidelines of God. They were burned to death as a result. It sounds extreme, especially given that the guidelines they didn't follow are not followed by us today either. We like to rationalize our reasons for not following God's will. Sometimes we have reasons that others agree with, sometimes we are just making excuses for ourselves. The fact of the matter is, though, if God gives an order, we better do it! He may not burn us to death on the spot, but judgment day won't be for the faint of heart.
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