FLAG ON THE PLAY

I enjoy this time of year when the evening air takes on a coolness or crispness. It reminds me that here in the United States, we are in the middle of football season. No, not soccer, but oblong, pig skinned, Hiesman trophied football. As I watched games today, my attention was drawn to the referees. Dressed in black and white striped shirts, they are right in the middle of every situation monitoring for rules violations in an attempt to ensure fair play. When there is a violation, the referee blows his whistle and throws a yellow flag into the air alerting everyone concerned that a violation has occurred. The rule violation is articulated and an appropriate penalty imposed. How would we fair if a 'life referee' followed us all day long? We are rude to a server in a restaurant ... whistle blows, flag is thrown and a penalty is imposed upon us for our behavior. We raise our voice to our spouse or with the children ... whistle blows, flag is thrown, penalty imposed. If you had a 'life referee' today, how many flags would have been thrown? How much would you have been penalized for rude or inappropriate behavior today? How fair do you play the game of life? There may not be a 'life referee' following you around (at least that you can see) but you will and are paying a price for violating rules in the game of life. Lets play fair. Lets be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more giving and reduce the penalties in our game of life. We and everyone else around us will be better for it!