THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever acted without thinking first? What happened?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 2:11. discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,
God guards our lives. He watches over us. Protects us. Keeps us safe. But not with magic like in Harry Potter or a Disney movie. God guards us by giving us wisdom. He keeps us safe by giving us discretion. Discretion? What’s that? Discretion is the ability to think before you act. Do you have discretion? Is discretion hard for you? Do you often act without thinking?
Discretion is a skill that we learn and practice as we grow up. When you were little you didn’t have discretion. But over time you’ve learned to think first, then do. And discretion is something that you will keep practicing for the rest of your life.
Discretion is the result of wisdom. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is the fear of the Lord. It is knowing God and caring about what he cares about. God cares about loving and serving others. So before you act in a mean way, or say something unkind, or choose to disobey, discretion will ask this question: What is the most loving thing to do? What choice will love God and love others the most? Will yelling at mom show that I love her? Will taking my brothers game controller while he’s using it show kindness? Will praying help? Will cheating help me in the long run? Will teasing her make me feel better or worse?
Jesus always used his discretion. He never did anything without thinking about it first. When he was tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread because he was hungry, Jesus didn’t just act without thinking. No. He thought about it, he quoted the Bible and he was able to resist the Devil’s attack. You can too! Jesus helps us to think first and act second. We can read the Bible and pray and get advice from people who are wise. And when we do this we learn discernment. We are learning to trust Jesus. And if we fail, it’s OK. Jesus succeeded for us.
Because of Jesus even if we make bad choices, we are still loved by God.
With Jesus we can always think about what he wants first before we act.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make a “Think Before You Do” poster together. Hang it where everyone can see!
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, help me to use your love as my wisdom. Help me to think about how much you care about me before I do anything foolish. Amen.
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