Daily Devotional for October 29, 2017
Just Having Fun
“Boo!” Liam shouted from behind the couch as his younger sister walked
past. Gabby screamed and jumped in surprise, and Liam laughed as he climbed out. “Gotcha!”
“Mom!” Gabby wailed. “Liam’s scaring me again!”
Mom stepped into the living room and looked at Liam sternly. “Liam, we’ve talked about this before,” she said. “You know it scares Gabby when you jump out at her like that. You need to stop it.”
“Yeah,” said Gabby, “and stop hitting me with your pillow too.”
“Oh, come on. I just wanted to have a pillow fight. Lighten up, Gabby.”
“Liam,” said Mom. “Jesus tells us to be kind to others, especially other Christians. Are you being kind to your sister?”
“Well, I’m not trying to be mean,” said Liam. “I just want to have fun.” As he spoke, their black cat raced past them, followed by their big golden dog.
“Oscar, leave Morris alone!” yelled Liam. He chased the golden retriever around the coffee table. Oscar pranced around and panted happily as he trapped the hissing cat in the corner.
“Oscar looks like he’s laughing,” said Gabby.
Mom nodded. “I’d say he’s having a lot of fun.”
“Oscar, come!” At Liam’s command, the dog finally turned away from the cat. “No chasing Morris.” Liam glared at the dog sternly as Oscar trotted to him. “Don’t do that again!”
Mom smirked. “But Oscar was only having fun. He didn’t do it to be mean.”
“Well, it wasn’t fun for Morris, and—” Liam stopped. He was quiet for a moment, then sighed. “I see your point, Mom. What’s fun for one animal—or person—might not be any fun for the other.”
Mom nodded. “Oscar was having fun at Morris’ expense. That’s much like the way you’ve been having fun with Gabby. You’ve been doing things that were fun for you, but not fun for her—in fact, I think part of your fun came from seeing her get upset. That’s not how Jesus wants us to treat people—He wants us to love them by showing them we care about their feelings.”
Liam looked over at Gabby, who had picked up Morris and gone out to the porch. “Come on, Oscar,” he said. “You and I both need to apologize.” – Jody Hedlund
How about you?
Are you sensitive to the feelings of others? Or do you like to have fun by teasing people who may not find it as fun as you do? As Christians, we need to put others’ feelings before our own fun and enjoyment so we can live with them in peace the way Jesus wants us to. Reflect His love in your words and actions toward others.
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