Game On
I’m sure we have all wanted to scream at the top of our lungs or say the meanest thing possible when we want to get even. We all have felt angry at sometime in our lives because it is part of our human nature. It is hard for us to think before we react sometimes. Self-control is a virtue that has to be learned anddoes not come naturally for many of us. The Bible advises us to have self-control. And at times, that is very hard for all of us, especially me.
The good news is that God doesn’t ask us to do anything on our own. God promises to help us. In Galatians 5: 22-23, the fruit of the spirit is given and self-control is the last one mentioned. When we have God in our lives, He’s present every hour of every day, ready to help us take control of our thoughts, words, and actions.
Each month, we focus on a new virtue in the 1st – 3rd grade kid’s church during the 11:00 service. During January, our topic is self-control – choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do. We are studying verses from Proverbs, a book full of wise and visual verses to challenge our thinking. Solomon, the writer, could have asked God for anything. He chose wisdom and because of it, God blessed him in many other ways.
Our teaching team in kid’s church has been trying to help the kids learn that when they want to say mean things to other kids or their parents, or throw a tantrum because they didn’t get their way, or give in to peer pressure, that they need to pause and ask God for wisdom and help. (It wouldn’t hurt some of us adults to do that as well) We are also talking about listening to God’s wisdom so we can make the best choice for the future instead of just reacting based on how we feel in the moment.
The verse we have encourage them to memorize is James 1:19 "My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry.”
Some other verses to look up are: Proverbs 25:28- God can give you the power to control yourself, Proverbs 16:32- Pause before you lose your temper, Proverbs 12:18- Select your words carefully, Proverbs 25:16- Know when to stop, & 2 Peter 1:3.
January is a great month to start new habits and put away old ones. Maybe this is a habit that we can work on together with our kids. Imagine how your relationship with the people around you and with your kids could change if you were able to press pause, think, and pray before you reacted in anger. Game on!
