Summary: "Mom, I want to wear my new purple sweater to our Sunday school party next Friday night, but I can't find it," wailed Cathy. "When was the last time you wore it?" Mom asked. Cathy wrinkled her brow. "I'm not sure," she replied. "Maybe you left it at church," suggested Mom. "Call the office and ask if anyone turned it in." "No, it can't be there," moaned Cathy. "Ihaven't even worn it to church yet." "Well, you need to go now--it's time for the school bus," Mom said. "We'll keep looking for the sweater. It will probably show up." But the sweater didn't show up, so on Friday, Cathy chose something else to wear to the party. When she arrived there, she stared in amazement at Marci, one of the girls in her class. "Melissa!" whispered Cathy to her best friend. "Look at Marci. That's my sweater she's wearing!" "Are you sure?" asked Melissa. "Maybe she has one just like yours." "No way!" hissed Cathy. "We wouldn't just happen to get sweaters alike. She must have found it somewhere and just kept it." "Ask her about it," suggested Melissa. Cathy shook her head and frowned. "She'd just lie about it," she grumbled. When Marci walked past, Melissa called her name. "That's a pretty sweater," said Melissa. "It's new, isn't it? Where did you get it?" "Thanks," said Marci. She grinned. "I like it, too. I got it for my birthday." "I'll bet," muttered Cathy. She was very angry, and she told several girls that Marci had stolen her sweater. When the party ended, Cathy hurried home. She was surprised to find her grandmother there. "You'll be glad to see what Grandma brought you," said Mom, and she handed Cathy her purple sweater. "B-b-but where did you find this?" Cathy stammered. "You left it at my house last Saturday," Grandma told her. Tears welled up in Cathy's eyes. "I've made a terrible mistake," she said with a sigh. "I'll tell you about it, but first I have to make some phone calls." How About You? Have you falsely accused someone? If you have, be sure to apologize, both to the one you've accused and to anyone else you may have told about it. Remember that hasty conclusions are often wrong. The next time you're tempted to make an accusation, think about God's instructions to be slow to speak and slow to get angry. Today's Key Verse: Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. (James 1:19) Today's Key Thought: Don't accuse anyone falsely
