945) As someone who has spent the last 36 years with kids, I know them fairly well. For example, my students, even when I taught high school, will often believe anything I tell them. Because of this, it’s fun to yank their chains every once-in-a-while. If I am absent one day, when I return the next, the kids will ask me, Where were you? I smile and will say something like, I was in Tahiti. Many will look at me and say, Really? Then I laugh.

Something else that is predictable with kids is that they have a sensitivity to “fairness.” When they see me handle one situation a certain way, then, in their mind, I must handle all situations the same way. They do not understand that circumstances, the child’s needs, motivations and situations, are all factors in how I deal with them. There really is no such thing as being “fair,” across the board.

In John 21:15-25, we read of a situation that is like what I have stated above. Jesus is talking with Peter, asking him three times if Peter loves him. The author of the book of John does not give the reason Jesus asks, but Peter pouts after the third time of questioning. Jesus then tells Peter that enemies of Christianity will put him to death similarly to how Jesus was. Peter’s reaction is typical of who he is. He asks Jesus, What about him? (John) Jesus tells Peter not to worry about others; that he should concentrate on himself.

If we truly spent our time being concerned with our own words and behaviors, then we wouldn’t have time to worry about someone else’s. We have no control over what someone else does, so spending the time focused on them is useless.