Choose good instead of evil; see that justice is done.
| posted 1/30/2009
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What you think and do really matters. It matters to God and to all who know you, because you are either a good or a bad influence on them. Remind your child (who's old enough to have had plenty of firsthand experience with this) that there are consequences to his or her actions: rewards for doing what's right, and punishment for doing what's wrong. That's the way God made the world, and it's actually for your own good.
You can tell your child that owning a hot sports car, dating the best-looking person on campus, or volunteering at a local charity so people think you're a caring person are shallow pursuits (5:21). God made you to want more out of life, to know his love, and to share it with others. That's where real satisfaction and purpose come from. Then it doesn't matter what you look like or who your friends are or what people think of you, because God accepts you the way you are—and makes you more like him!
Our years on earth are precious and few, so show your son or daughter by the way you serve God that his opinion is worth far more than anyone else's. Encourage your adult child to stand up for other people's rights—and lay down his or her own. Then pray that God will help your son or daughter do what's right (see 5:14, 15). (See also Ecclesiastes 11:1-12; Ezekiel 18:1-20; Matthew 14:24-33; 1 Timothy 4:6-16.)
Good Words to Remember:
Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. Amos 3:15
Today's Challenge:
How do you model to your kids that God's opinion is worth more than anyone else's?
Copyright 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.
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