OUT TO PASTOR: I sure miss being a spoiled brat

After my last doctor’s visit, I went to the Publix pharmacy to pick up new medicine.

Doctors have a pill for every problem in the world – if only they all worked.

I was early at the store, and my medicine wasn’t quite ready. So, I decided to walk around Publix and get a little exercise.

Walking down one aisle, I noticed a little boy who seemed to be having some problems. He was arguing with his mother, stamping his feet and telling her, “I want that candy.”

It was all his mother could do to keep him from getting out of control in the store.

I smiled and went down another aisle. About 15 minutes later, I was walking down another aisle, and there was another little boy who was angrily talking to his mother, stamping his feet and telling her, “I deserve those cookies. I want them now.”

I walked past them and headed for another aisle. I must confess I was chuckling and very glad I didn’t have those boys in my home.

You won’t believe it, but as I was walking down another aisle, there was another little boy doing the very same thing. I was unsure what he wanted because I couldn’t understand him; he was Spanish. But he had the same characteristics as the other two boys.

I laughed as I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medicine, and then headed for my car.

When I got home, I got a cup of coffee, sat on my easy chair, and began thinking. I couldn’t get those three boys out of my head as they were acting like spoiled brats.

As I was reflecting on those boys, I had a terrible thought. I don’t know where this thought came from, and I would like to chase it down the aisle.

But when I was their age, I was also a spoiled brat.

I had forgotten about that stage in my life. I leaned back in my chair and remembered those days in my childhood.

When I recall those spoiled brat days, I remember just how profitable they were. I was able to get most of the things I really wanted.

When my mother took me shopping, I remember that I put on my spoiled brat attitude and got what I wanted at the store. There were a lot of things, like candy, cookies, and even some ice cream. If I made a scene, my mother would do whatever she could to settle me down.

My grandmother was even better. I didn’t have to go into too many temper tantrums before she got me what I wanted. All I had to do was stand up, look at her, and scowled very angrily, and she melded and gave me what I wanted.

Those were the golden days of being a spoiled brat. Whatever I wanted, I could get just by being a spoiled brat. At the time, I was very good at that, and I got much of what I wanted.

I’m not sure how long that spoiled brat era lasted, but I had the advantage of it all those times.

Sitting in my chair thinking about this, I had another thought.

Now that I’m married, how would The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage deal with me reinventing my spoiled brat attitude?

Could I get what I wanted just by acting like a spoiled brat? Would she cave to all of my desires just because I was acting like a spoiled brat?

Maybe – I could get an Apple Fritter.

What would be a good place to reinvent my spoiled brat attitude, and how would The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage deal with it?

I spent the whole afternoon thinking about that. I had plenty of time because The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage was out thrift store shopping for the afternoon.

I had to try to think back on how I invented that spoiled brat attitude that got me whatever I wanted.

Just as I was thinking about where to start, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came home.

She walked into the living room and said, “You will never believe what I saw at one of the thrift stores this afternoon. There was this little boy down one aisle that was going into some kind a temper tantrum to make sure his mother bought him what he wanted. He sure did make a scene there in that store.”

She paused momentarily, and I wasn’t quite sure what she would say next, but then she said it.

“If I was that boy’s mother, and he ever did anything like that with me, I would take him home, spank him and ground him for a month. Nobody has any right to act like a spoiled brat.”

My question for the afternoon was finally solved.

This got me thinking about what I read in the Bible. It was something Jesus said. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

Thinking about this, would a spoiled brat like being treated the same way? I need to treat people the way I would like to be treated. Nice deserves nice.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone is (352) 216-3025, e-mail is jamessnyder51@gmail.com, and website is www.jamessnyderministries.com