Pitching a fit – that’s what we call a temper tantrum here in the South.
This past Friday at Columbia University, a student made sure that the cameras caught her pitching a fit at the graduation ceremony in which she received a diploma for her master’s degree from the Columbia School of Social Work.
Now, that is all the info I am relaying about this ridiculous fit-pitching incident from an obviously misinformed and totally entitled adult who was graduating from a private, Ivy League university located in New York City.
What I am going to discuss is our nation’s growing trend for excusing and even validating these completely self-centered, self-promoting hypocrites who continue to pitch fits and garner the exact media attention they seek.
What happened to us, America?
When did we stop teaching our children that actions have consequences? When did we forget that “to whom much is given, much is required?”
Ironically, these questions and this adult temper tantrum reminded me of the first time that my son pitched a fit. I can remember the scene like it happened yesterday, even though my oldest child is now in his early forties.
It all began innocently enough:
My mom, her best friend, my sister, and I went on a little shopping excursion to a nearby city, with my toddler in tow. Granted, he was usually the center of attention with all these ladies, so I am sure that it came as a shock to him that they were more interested in shopping for clothes and home goods than they were in purchasing toys and candy.
So, there we were, right in the middle of this nice suburban mall, when my sweet baby boy demanded some little prize. To be honest, I cannot even recall what the object of his desire was, but I do remember that he intended to get it – at all costs.
Again, keep in mind that he usually got what he wanted without much effort from these women in his life. He was the first grandchild on both sides, and he was pampered and adored by all. Poor baby! He was probably shocked when they did not immediately give him what his little heart and hands desired.
So what was a spoiled toddler to do when his demands were not quickly met? Well, pitch a fit, of course.
He proceeded to throw himself (albeit gently) onto the concrete floor, smackdab between the doors of Walgreens and Sears. It took him a minute to figure out his next step, but he soon began to flail his arms and legs, pretending to cry profusely.
Every now and then, he opened his eyes and paused momentarily to check for his expected response. Then, he adjusted his fit pitching and upped his acting antics by increasing the volume of his cries.
Needless to say, the people passing by were shocked by his little emotional sideshow. They really didn’t know what to do. Some quickly walked on by. Others stopped to gape. And some even made snide comments about my parenting skills.
My mother and her friend were also shocked and almost immobilized by this surprise tantrum, since he had never even hinted at pitching a fit in front of them before. I, on the other hand, was amused that my little poker player had finally shown them his entire hand.
Just as I moved to pick him up, take him back to the car, and paddle him, my sister (his absolute favorite human on the entire planet) intervened. And even now, I am certain she deserves an Academy Award for her moving performance!
She rushed to his side. (I bet that he thought his actions were 100% successful at this point, but he was dead wrong.) She threw herself onto the floor beside him and joined in his fit pitching, her adult arms and legs flailing and punctuated by desperate, tear-filled sobs.
Talk about people staring! It’s a wonder the mall police were not called.
But guess what?
Young Mr. Lucius was totally embarrassed. He stopped his tantrum instantly, got up, and walked away from her ridiculous behavior as quickly as he could.
She egged it on, though, kicking and crying out, “Wait. Come back! We aren’t finished!”
But he was finished – forever. In fact, he never pitched a fit again, ever! In an instant, my genius sister took a mirror and showed my child a true picture of himself, and he did not like what he saw. At all!
So here’s my only question about this grown woman pitching a fit at Columbia: Does anyone have a mirror? Because someone, somewhere, with some good ol’ common sense needs to show this poor woman exactly how silly she looked to the rest of the rational world.
Wait! Rational is the key word here, for it’s evident that this woman is not rational. Neither are her liberal counterparts. Their mirrors have become distorted, and they have been blinded by the lies of the enemy of their very souls.
And at this point, the only hope for any of us to fix this foolhardy distortion is by looking into the one clear, precise, and unchanging mirror in the universe – God’s Word.
The entire chapter of Proverbs 26 is a great place to start, but verses 4-5 do not mince words for fools who pitch fits or fools who attend unto those fits:
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.
But if America continues to allow such fit pitching in our schools and universities, then verses 11- 12 paint a dreary picture of our nation’s future:
Like a dog that returns to its vomit
Is a fool who repeats his folly.
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
