Daily Devotional for January 10, 2017
Staying in Character
“You take the sword, Leo, and be ready for me when I storm the castle,” Ryan instructed his little brother as he slipped on his dragon mask.
Leo nodded, put on his knight helmet, and paced back and forth in front of the tent.
Ryan ran off and disappeared from Leo’s view, crouching behind a bush. Then he crawled back to the tent and quietly entered it unnoticed.
“RAAAAAAWR!” Ryan bellowed. “This is my castle now! Flames! Run for your life, knight!” He continued to yell as he ran at his brother.
Leo threw his helmet down and dropped his sword. “That’s not fair!” he exclaimed. “You came from behind. I wasn’t ready for you!”
Ryan ripped off his mask. “Oh, come on, Leo! Knights don’t throw their helmets down and whine. I hate playing with you, you always wreck everything!”
“Whoa, you are a fiery dragon,” said Mom, who had come running over when she heard the brothers yelling. “Calm down, Ryan. Don’t talk to Leo like that.”
“But he does this every time! When we played astronauts and the aliens came, he pitched a fit. When we played superheroes and the villain caught him, he started crying. Superheroes don’t cry, Mom!”
“I know, Ryan,” Mom said. “Leo just has some trouble staying in character.” She turned to Leo. “Leo, Ryan has a point. When you’re playing pretend, it’s more fun if everyone stays in character.” She turned back to Ryan. “But you’re also acting out of character when you talk to Leo like that.”
“But he makes me so mad!” said Ryan.
“All the more reason to stay in character,” said Mom. “It’s easy to be kind when everything is going smoothly. It’s when things don’t go our way that we need to remember who we are. And as Christians, our true character is in Jesus, and we need to follow His example in all we do. We do that by listening to the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and motivates us to do what’s right. Remember that the next time you’re tempted to do something wrong—like lash out at Leo in anger.”
Ryan looked at his brother. “Sorry, Leo. I didn’t mean to be such a dragon.” – Kelly Bakshi
How about you?
Do you ever act out of character? Do you have moments when you treat others poorly or do things you know are wrong? If you’re a Christian, your character is tied to Jesus, and God wants you to obey His commands and love people the way Jesus did, even when it’s hard. Stay in character by remembering who you are in Jesus and following the Holy Spirit’s leading in everything you do.
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