Hezekiah - Part 2

Hannah hopped off the bus at school and began her walk down the hall toward her classroom. There were girls clustered around lockers showing off these colorful wristbands. Some were glittery, others multi-colored, and when the girls stretched them out, they were in the shapes of animals, fairies, dinosaurs...just about anything she could think of. It seemed as if from nowhere all the kids in her grade had acquired hundreds of these randomly-shaped rubber bands overnight.

"They're called 'silly bands,'" her friend Arleen said.

Soon, Hannah caught onto the craze. She had twenty of them up each arm and wanted more. Every time a new package of shapes came out, Hannah used her allowance money to buy them. She was gaining popularity with her classmates, too. Everyone liked to trade with her because she always had the newest shapes.

Her parents didn't approve of her infatuation with these bands, but they also wanted her to learn how to spend her money wisely. They gave their input, but in the end, it was up to her.

One day, Hannah was in her room and had all of her silly bands spread out on the floor. Tamara, her younger sister, came skipping in and wanted to play with her. She scooped up about five of the bands and began stretching them as far as they could go.

"Ma-ra!" Screamed Hannah as she snatched them out of Tamara's hand. "You're going to break them! Don't you ever touch them again! They're mine. You hear me?? Mine!"

Tamara ran out of the room, crying.

A little later, Hannah's mom knocked quietly at her bedroom door.

"Yes?" Hannah asked sulkily.

"Do you know why I'm coming in here?"

"I think so."

"Hannah, why did you treat your sister that way? You usually love playing with her."

"I know. She was going to break my silly bands, though."

"You've gotten quite carried away with those silly bands and your dad and I are very worried about you. You hardly ever snap at your sister like that. It's not like you, Hannah. And I think you realize that too. When was the last time you read your Bible? You haven't told me any cool stories you've read recently. Have you been reading?"

"Well, no. I haven't had time because I've been trying to earn more money to buy silly bands... and I like to count them... and my friends and I like to trade them. Plus, I have to make sure I keep track of when new shapes come out..."

"Hannah, silly bands can be completely harmless, you know, until you begin placing those things before God. He is zealous for time with you. He loves to listen to you and show you new things about Him. What you are doing is placing an idol in a higher position than God. My advice to you would be to put your silly bands up and pick up where you left off in your Bible."

"Yes ma'am."

Hannah's mother smiled and quietly left the room. As she began to pick up all the silly bands surrounding her, Hannah got her Bible out and flipped to where she had left off.

...David had done. [Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).


"Well, I don't have a bronze serpent, but I do have some idols placed in some high places. Time to tear them down."

The next day, Hannah gave half of her silly bands to her sister and the rest she gave to her friends at school. She kept one for herself though. It was a reminder to her that many of life's pleasures are okay in small doses, as long as God remains in the high place.