THINK TOGETHER.
Do mom and dad ever ask you to be quiet?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 17:1. Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
Would you rather have crackers and water but with quiet, or pizza and soda but with arguing and yelling? Solomon is telling us to choose the crackers and quiet.
Solomon is reminding us of two very important life principles. The first is that, often, the more you have, the more you have to fight over. Sometimes parents make the mistake of trying to create quiet by giving their children more stuff. But usually, the more we get the more we want. And the more we want, the more we argue, whine, or complain in order to get it. Have you ever caught yourself acting this way – wanting more and more?
And parents remember, the sign of a successful home is not how many things you give your children, but how much love and peace you provide.
The second principle is that quiet is better than strife. Is your house full of quiet or is it full of strife? The word quiet here doesn’t mean that no one ever talks, or laughs, or has a good conversation. It means that you are not yelling and screaming, or arguing and bickering with each other. Quiet means that you stay calm. Quiet in a house shows that there is peace, and contentment, and safety.
A quiet house is always a house full of love. When we know we are loved and cared for we begin to let go of the need to fight for what we think is ours. That’s why in the New Testament the Apostle Paul tells Christians try to live a quiet life. A peaceful life. How? By remembering that they are loved and cared for by Jesus himself. When we know how much Jesus loves us we can always be content, even if we have to eat crackers instead of pizza. We know that with Jesus we can lose everything and still be OK, because we have him and one day we will have heaven.
Because of Jesus we can be full of peace and contentment.
With Jesus we can be quiet instead of loud and demanding.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together. Talk about all the strife that the children caused because they could not be content. Charlie, however, was quiet.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, you bring me peace and contentment. Help me to not fight for what’s mine because everything is yours. Amen.
TLICfamily 