Why should my teenage daughter ask for a cinnamon roll when she can sneak one into her bedroom under her bathrobe? Then she can eat it alone in her room after everyone goes to bed and nobody will know. The trouble with little lies or little thefts is that they have a way of finding you out and growing. One little white lie can turn into a huge sin if we let it grow instead of confessing and seeking forgiveness. You see we have a house rule of “No eating in bedrooms.” We also need to brush our teeth before bed to get rid of the sugar bugs, from our treats, that like to cause cavities. Therefore, stealing a cinnamon role instead of asking to have it for treat caused my teenage daughter to break three house rules.

Our four-year-old daughter has been asking me all week to take her into the hot tub to play. All week I have given her one excuse after another, but she didn’t give up. So tonight, I took her out and Ty joined us. Our toddler, Ami, noticed us after we had been out there for about 20 minutes. She kept staring at us and I didn’t want her to start crying so I told the children that I was going inside. I wrapped my towel around my shoulders and headed towards the kitchen.

I was just coming through the kitchen door when I saw my teenage daughter slip something under her arm. “What did you just do?” I asked. She pulled the cinnamon roll out from under her arm and showed it to me. I didn’t say anything. I took her by the arm, and led her into the living room to see Super Dad. She was still holding the prepackaged cinnamon roll. He realized something was up and turned down the volume of the Phoenix versus Seattle game.

You see numerous times I have yelled at her, given her consequences, and talked to her about sin. I have explained how it hurts our relationship by breaking our trust. Because she has memorized about 400 Bible verses through AWANA, I remind her of some of the related verses. On her way to her “Meritorious” AWANA award I know she has memorized

Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal (KJV) and Ephesians 4:28 (NIV) He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

She came to live with us four weeks before her fourth birthday. Ever since then she has attended Sunday school, AWANA on Monday nights during the school year, and vacation Bible school every summer. We cannot seem to get her to stop. We fear that once she is an adult she may spend time in jail.

Lately, she has been really bonding with her dad. She watches basketball games with him, sits by him, and glows from his attention. That is why I took her to see him. She was devastated by his reprimand. Maybe it will make a difference. We continue to pray for her but we won’t be bailing her out of jail if it comes to that. She has been told for ten years that stealing is wrong, illegal, and sinful.

When Super Dad finished I asked her what would have happened if she had asked to have the cinnamon roll for treat. Her answer, “I probably could have had it.” Yes, she probably could have had it for treat if she had asked. I suppose she doesn’t get quite the same high from asking as she does from stealing and sneaking.

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Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2008