Thank you Lizzy and Max for helping me with this video!
Max knew that Lizzy probably wouldn’t appreciate having ketchup smeared on her arm, but he chose to do it anyway because it made him laugh. Some people think that just because they're joking or just because what they're doing is funny, it's okay to do it no matter what. But what if you're thinking of doing something that will make you laugh, but the other person doesn't like it or doesn't think of it as being funny? If you know the other person wouldn't like it, then you're not actually being funny, you're being cruel. This is the definition of cruelty: doing something to another that they don't like for your own enjoyment.
In our Do-Over Duo, Max was being cruel to Lizzy. What is the loving thing to do instead? The loving thing to do... is to not do cruel things at all. We simply make the decision that whatever we were thinking of doing is not loving, and we just decide not to do it.
Note: This video was one of the most difficult videos to film. In our family when surprising or unexpected things happen, our first response is to assume that we don't know what happened, but it was probably an accident. Blame, accusation or offense don't have any part in it. Forgiveness and understanding is the the first thing we think of when a surprising event takes place. This is the appropriate and loving way to respond to surprises, even the unpleasant ones.
Filming this was really hard because Lizzy was supposed to be surprised by the cold ketchup on her arm, but then she was supposed to get mad at Max. She was having a really hard time acting offended and upset, because her first response in real life is to be forgiving and understanding. She had to be smeared with ketchup many times because she couldn’t do anything but feel surprised, then forgiving and understanding, which made her laugh at herself every single time. We had to do many takes before she started to look remotely offended, and if you look closely, you can still see her trying to hide her first reaction.
What about you? Have you ever been cruel towards your siblings? Have you ever exploded in anger and offense when something unpleasant unexpectedly happened? We pray that the Holy Spirit through your conscience will remind you to be loving to your siblings by choosing not to be cruel, and helping you to respond with grace and forgiveness when unpleasant or surprising things happen.
Love,
Rachel
