Biblical Translation 101 And How It Relates To Kids

Luke 11:8
I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

The above referenced passage is part of a parable about a man who has friends stop in late at night. He realizes that he has no bread to serve them and can't go to the local 7-11, so he knocks on his neighbor's door.

Said neighbor goes to bed early and just doesn't want bothered with this kind of stuff when all he wants to do is sleep. (He probably has small kids of random ages. The baby takes the 9-midnight shift of Lets Keep Mom And Dad Awake, the toddler takes the midnight -3 AM shift, and the preschooler takes the 3-6 AM shift. The kids graciously let the parents sleep after that, knowing full well that the alarm is set to go off at 6:30.)

So the neighbor is just plain tired. Exhausted. Beat down from years of sleep deprivation at the hands of his wee precious children. He's in bed, darnit, and he's not getting up to share bread. He chooses to ignore his neighbor's pleas for help, accompanied by the mad knocking on his door. If he can sleep through the dogs barking nightly, he can most assuredly sleep through that pesky bread-hungry neighbor.

But the knocking continues. And the yelling begins. And by golly, if that neighbor wakes the kids (who are sleeping for the first night since I Can't Remember Because I'm Perpetually Sleep Deprived) there will be consequences to pay. Consequences. Big ones, too.

So the sleep deprived neighbor does what anyone would do in this situation. He wishes that the earth would open up and swallow his neighbor. He's willing to deal with the gaping hole right in front of his door, but please just make that neighbor go away.

Knock, knock, knock. POUND. POUND. "Bread! I just want one loaf! I know you're in there and you can't be asleep yet because I see your eyes glaring at me in the dim nightlight you have."

Curse that nightlight, along with the neighbor.

At this point, the man has no choice but to get up and hand out bread like Halloween candy. If it comes to waking the kids or losing a few minutes of sleep, it's a no-brainer. He rolls off his floor mat, gingerly steps across sleeping bodies, opens the pantry door, and tosses bread out the window.

"...because of the man's persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

Why is it that kids instinctively know this verse, and grasp it's full meaning?



MomMomMomMOMMomMomMoooooomMommyMomMom

GAH! If you'll just stop with that insanity I'll give you the bread already!

See? Genius. Kids are brilliant.

2 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm not quite so sure why it took me THAT long to figure out where the punchline was going to be. But ummm yeah. Way too often, yeah.

My name is Sarah said...

Haaa... that is what my mother wants to look like when she is old...the purple stuff you know!!! OK now me and my mom are rolling on the floor laughing.