Good and Evil
Entry posted by Color Me Holly
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I grew up in a Christian Family. As a child I can remember a lot of Bible stories and good vs. evil. I can also remember being told not to use the "good" scissors. When I was five or so the good scissors were the best. All the other scissors were bad or evil. I didn't want to use any other pair. After all, they were bad and I was taught not to do or use bad things. I didn't want to get in trouble for something bad, but I always got in trouble for using the "good" scissors. Being young, I lacked the understanding of why we had good scissors. I was also unable to explain why I always used the "good" scissors. My thoughts on this subject were vindicated when I was in college. A few of my friends and I all had the same thoughts about the "good" scissors as children.
This brings me to the present day. We, Mike and I, are not very religious; however, we have taught our children right and wrong, good vs. evil, etc. I have told my children that the white scissors are fabric scissors. Now while I have labeled them the fabric scissors I still refer to them as the "good" scissors. The blue, red and orange are the "cut whatever you want" or "evil" scissors.
Tonight, I was going to make a miniature dust ruffle for a miniature bed. I opened the drawer to get my fabric scissors only to find them gone...again. After a bit of searching, I found them on the China cabinet next to a roll of duct tape. Then I filled a bobbin, when it was full I grabbed the scissors to snip the end. They wouldn't open easily. This is when I found out they had been used for cutting the duct tape. I begin muttering obscenities and asking myself why my family continually uses the "good" scissors. They are a different color than the rest of the ten pairs of scissors we have. Lighting must have stuck me from the sky because that is when it occurred to me: they use them because they are the "good" scissors.
I don't know about anyone else's children, but mine usually make black and white decisions. If they are unsure about what to do they will normally ask. Their choice to use the "good" scissors must be based on a word. Whether their decision is based on good being "the best" or good being "serene, gentle and kind" is a mystery. Maybe when they are older and have gained worldly experience and knowledge, they will remember the "good vs. evil" scissors and share their reasoning. For now, I will just have to hide my scissors better.
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