THINK TOGETHER.
Do you ever pretend? What do you like to pretend?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 13:7. One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
Pretending you are something you aren’t can be lots of fun. When I was a kid I loved basketball. I would go outside in the driveway and shoot baskets for hours, pretending that I was the great players in the NBA. And inside the house I would act out entire games of my favorite team on my little nerf hoop.
What do you like to pretend to be?
But pretending can also be a bad thing. That’s what Solomon is telling us in this proverb. Pretending can be a form of lying or deception. Solomon describes two pretenders here. The first is someone who tries to make themselves look richer than they are. Maybe they want to look better to others than they think they are. There are also those who pretend to be poorer than they are. Maybe they want people to give them things.
When it comes to our relationships to others we should never want to pretend in order to fit in. And that’s true in all things, not just how rich or how poor we are.
With Jesus we never have to pretend to be something we aren’t. Jesus never judges based on how much money we have. In fact, he warns about having too much money because we can easily fall in love with money and with stuff.
With Jesus we can be poor and still be very rich in his love, and kindness, and grace. Or we can be rich, but poor in Jesus’ love, because we value our money over him. “You can’t serve both God ad money,” Jesus said. One will make you honest and the other will make you a pretender.
Because of Jesus we are always loved whether rich or poor.
With Jesus we never have to pretend to be something we aren’t.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Help your kids know the difference between good pretending and bad pretending. Good pretending lets everyone know that you are pretending, bad pretending tries to trick others. Do some good pretending as a family. What will you pretend to be?
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, I don’t want to pretend with you or with others. Help me to be who I am, knowing that you love me the same whether I am rich or poor. Amen.
TLICfamily 