Where there are children, there will be tattling. Just about every child ends up on both sides of this issue in the first decade of life. For some, the urge to out wrongdoers becomes powerful, and a tattletale is born.
Tattletales who make it to adulthood without outgrowing their penchant for sharing the flaws and foibles of others get a new name: Gossip. We've all heard the expression, "Nobody likes a tattletale," but have you ever wondered where it came from? What's wrong with exposing wrongdoing? In his incredible Sermon on the Mount, Jesus both originated the complaint against tattletales and exposed the reason: drawing attention to the flaws of others takes the focus off our own.
"Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3-4, NLT).
Ask God to show you any logs you may be overlooking in your life, and thank him for trusting you with this important parenting lesson when you need to help your children learn to worry about themselves.
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