Math Challenge

My junior higher was working on a take-home math puzzle the other day. It was formatted in crossword-style, and you had to fill in a variety of numbers by answering the questions. However, the questions were set up like, “The product of 9 across and 5 down.” You couldn’t get some results without the answers from others.

My son was doing fairly well. He had most of them completed. But then he got stuck and couldn’t go any further. That’s where I came into the picture. I had done fairly well in math in my day, so when he handed me the sheet to look over, I thought, “No problem.”

However, the puzzle was true to its title. It was a challenge. If you had a single number wrong, the rest of your numbers would be wrong. One digit could affect the success of the entire puzzle. I ended up (for my own sanity) making a copy of the puzzle and then reworking it from the beginning. I was able to see where my son had missed vital clues and where he had made crucial mathematical miscalculations. After I pointed out a few of his mistakes, I had him restart the puzzle. He was successful that time around.

It’s amazing how one little error can affect the whole outcome. Bad choices are like that. When we choose not to be cautious about our actions, or we decide to do something that is inappropriate, we suffer the consequences. Our life becomes a domino effect, one bad choice cascading into a series of problems that can affect us for years. Only when we check our choices by God and His word can we get the right answers in life. His help is always 100% correct.