As Eduardo was watering his plants and talking to them, his mom tapped on the bedroom door.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were talking to yourself," she said as she came into the room.
"Just chatting with my plants," Eduardo said with a grin. "It's going to be interesting to see if talking to them affects their growth."
Mom nodded. "What did you learn in Sunday school today?" she asked.
Eduardo frowned; then he grinned. "Well, for one thing, I learned that Manuel doesn't know anything when it comes to Bible stories."
Mom raised her eyebrows. "Looks like you've been doing some comparing," she said as she picked up a plant. "Are you using the same food, soil, and amounts of light with the plants you're talking to and the ones you're not talking to?" she asked.
"Of course," said Eduardo. "Otherwise I won't know if the difference in their growth is because of being talked to or something else. The ones in the basement get a different amount of light, though, and I'm talking to those in the laundry room but not those in the freezer room. I have to take all that into account when I make my report."
Mom nodded. "I should think so," she said. "And you know what? I think you should think about differences when you compare the growth of kids in your class." She set the plant down. "Manuel hasn't been coming to Sunday school for very long, remember?" she asked. "He's a new Christian, and he hasn't had time to learn a lot of Bible stories and what God expects of him as a Christian. Most of the kids have heard these things over and over since they were tiny. Besides, God has given us different abilities, so some people learn more quickly than others. Do you think it's fair to expect the same amount of growth in each person?"
Eduardo shook his head.
"I don't think so, either," continued Mom, "so take differences into account. Or better yet, don't judge your friends at all. Leave that to God. He's the only one who can make fair judgments, anyway."