Responsibility Rewarded

Remember a post a few months back, “Responsible Words”? Zachary, our animal-loving son, decided he wanted a pet all of his own. When Zachary gets something on his mind, he’s pretty persistent until it comes to pass. We made a deal. If he could use his words responsibly, an area he often struggles with, for a total of 56 days (eight weeks) he would earn the right to buy his own small, easy to care for pet.

Twelve long weeks after the pact was made, Zachary at last completed his chart.


Proud and excited, he was ready to purchase his new pet. By this point, he had passed on his original idea of a fish, and his second thought of a hermit crab, and settled on a gerbil as his new companion. However, with the holidays approaching and the knowledge that we would be traveling for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, we had to postpone the purchase.

In the meantime, Zachary and I went on a special date during which he bought a cage, a ball, and other necessities for the pet that would soon be his. We concluded our evening together by setting up the new home in Zachary’s room.

The Christmas holidays preoccupied Zachary with other thoughts, but as soon as we arrived back into town after a few days of visiting family, the agenda was set. The next morning we would run several errands, which would include buying a gerbil.

On December 30, Zachary purchased Rhino the gerbil for $10 at PetSmart. Zachary loved him immediately and was filled with pure joy, enthusiasm, and also a good deal of protection over his new charge as we exited the store with the newest pet to join our household.


Rhino joined our family one week ago and is settling in very well. He is quickly becoming tame and may be the most spoiled gerbil ever, as he is held multiple times each day. He also enjoys daily play time which includes running in a ball, shredding empty toilet paper rolls, and being read to.

Perhaps most exciting to Rhino are the numerous episodes throughout the day of Baci jumping up towards his cage and barking for several minutes. Rhino seems more curious than scared of our dog, yet Baci acts more as if she would like to eat our gerbil. We do hope this phase will pass as quickly as Baci’s aggression towards Zachary’s life-size Luke Skywalker cardboard cut-out did.


Zachary is proving to be very responsible with Rhino. Admittedly, he is only one week into this venture of having his own pet. Yet he seems to truly enjoy the duties that come with the privilege. He is eager to feed Rhino, change his water daily, and even clean up the cedar shavings that fall from the cage.

Zachary’s struggle with using his words responsibly continues. He is more aware of his need to improve his communication skills, yet must daily battle his natural desires with what is edifying to those he is speaking with and what is pleasing to the Lord he loves. (Don’t we all?)

Completing a chart and getting a new pet are not solutions to sin problems. Only a relationship with God and an understanding of what He wants for our lives, as well as strength from the Holy Spirit living within, will result in lasting change.

Zachary understands this to some extent. He has made progress, and that progress has been rewarded. But as the apostle Paul states, there will always be a struggle with doing and saying what is right and not doing and saying what is wrong. Zachary is fighting that battle, but with the Lord on his side, and his pet Rhino as a visual reminder of the benefits of using responsible speech, I believe he will win his war with words.


“Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37