THINK TOGETHER.
What do you normally do when someone offends you or hurts your feelings?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 25:9. Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret,
Like this proverb, Jesus told us that when we have been offended by our neighbor (friend) we are to go directly to them to talk about it.
Matthew 18:15. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Learning how to deal with conflict on your own is one of the most important things you can learn growing up. I’m not going to lie; it can be really hard to do. When someone hurts our feelings or wrongs us in some way, there are usually two traps we can fall into. The first is that we don’t ever say anything to the other person. We just want to avoid conflict and not make things worse. The other extreme is that we tattle-tale, whine, or get upset about every little thing other people do to us. Both of these are foolish and wrong.
Yes, there are times when we can overlook things that others have done to us. We can forgive and let it go. Proverbs also says that “love covers a multitude of sins,” and that it is “glory to overlook an offense.” But then there are others times when you do have to tell an adult when you are being bullied or picked on. Getting help with conflict is also something Jesus told us to do, especially if the other person won’t stop or apologize for their mean behavior.
But most conflicts live in between these two extremes. They are not easily overlooked and forgotten, but they also don’t need to be blown up into something that everyone else knows about. Where does that leave us? It leaves us learning how to talk to others when they hurt our feelings or mistreat us. This takes practice. Lot and lots of practice. And your home is a great place to start.
Because of Jesus we arereconciled to God and can reconcile with others.
With Jesus we can go to others when they hurt or offend us.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Practice talking to one another when there is conflict without getting everyone else involved. Do some role playing to start. Parents, don’t quickly jump in to resolve differences, let your children practice reconciliation.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, by your grace, help me to courageously talk to those who hurt me. Amen.
TLICfamily 