Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work.

I'll never forget the feeling of going down that water slide in sixth grade. I was at the pool with my friend, ready to have the best day ever, of course, and what's the best way to start your day at the pool?

Well, you hit the water slide first, right?

So we go up the stairs and wait in the line, and finally, it's my turn, so I eagerly launch myself forward, feet first, going down the stream.

And it's not until about halfway down the slide water spraying everywhere i'm having the

time of my life that suddenly my heart sinks not because there was a drop but because of a sudden

cold realization sitting in my pocket is my brand new iPhone now this was an iPhone four so this is back

before iPhones were waterproof, right?

This is the put-it-in-a-bowl of rice and prey era.

So I stood at the bottom of that slide, dripping wet, holding a piece of technology that was now nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

I was devastated.

But the real blow came when I got home.

I mean, I was wondering how my parents would react.

Would they forgive me? Would they be mad? Most importantly, would they buy me a new one? A short answer,

no. To this day, I still remember my dad looking at me, not with anger, but with this look of

this is going to be a learning moment. He told me that it's totally fine.

Everyone makes mistakes.

Nobody was mad.

But if I wanted a new phone, I was going to have to pay for it myself.

And that's when he taught me about something I've never forgotten.

He used that opportunity to teach me about the stupid tax.

The stupid tax is the price you pay for being stupid. I was stupid for bringing my phone

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