Hopefully, we are the most evil and egocentric we will ever be as infants. Don’t let babies fool you. If they had the strength, they would kill you for their next meal if it didn’t come fast enough. They don’t understand relationships yet, they don’t understand cause and effect. They don’t recognize love as adults understand it . It is our job as parents to teach it to them. We do this primarily just by raising them. As they get older there is still a lot to learn. Things like patience, self control, selflessness and obedience are concepts we don’t learn until we are about 3 or 4. Then we have the next few years to learn things like generosity, respect, forgiveness and empathy. Hopefully once we are adults we have matured enough to learn even more challenging virtues like, grace and altruism. We have a long way to go to being Christ-like. Some a farther along than others… much farther. Now I know we aren’t suppose to be like the proud man, thanking God he isn’t like other sinners, but at the same time I think it is ok from time to time to pat yourself on the back and be grateful for your progress. Think of it as a way to thank your parents and others you have invested in you. People watch for a bit, and take note of those who must have missed or forgotten the lessons offered at kindergarten.
You haven’t grown much from infancy if…
- you get upset when you don’t get what you want instantly.
- you get short and snappy with people when you are hungry.
- passing gas around others isn’t considered rude.
- everyone should be concerned with your needs.
- everyone should drop what they are doing to help you.
- pooping, thinking about pooping or feeling like you are about to poop is the only time you smile.
- you only want what you can’t have.
- you can’t control your mood when you haven’t gotten enough sleep.
- you expect everyone to plan their day around your feeding and sleeping schedule.
- you never say thank you to people who take care of you.
- you are young and healthy, but still expect everyone to do everything for you.
- you feel entitled to whatever it is you want.
- you cry and fuss at boundaries.
- you always want attention.
- you believe you should always be entertained.
- you raise your voice when you are upset.
- you are upset because you raised your voice.
- if people have a reasonable stance against your will, you resort to crying all the louder.
- you never care what people think about your bad attitude.
- you don’t know what you want, but you want it right now.
Now work with me here. Every single one of these can apply to some recent adult behavior we have observed. Perhaps it’s not only pooping that makes you smile, but maybe only pleasurable experiences. It can be fun to laugh when we compare this list to others, but let’s not make the mistake of forgetting to run ourselves through this list first. There are several listed here that apply to me.
Keep growing.
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