Daily Devotional for December 27, 2021
The Domino Effect
Kai watched in horror as his little sister reached for the dominoes he had spent the last two hours setting up. “Halia! Don’t touch those!”
But it was too late. Halia pushed the first domino, and they all quickly tumbled down. Halia giggled, clapping her little hands.
“You are so stupid, Halia!” Kai shouted. “I was going to make a video of that! Now go away!” Halia’s happy face crumpled. Sobbing, she ran off to the next room.
Olive, their dog, wandered over to Halia, her tail wagging. When Olive licked Halia’s face, she kicked at the dog. “Stupid!” she yelled. “Go away!”
Then Kai heard Mom’s voice. “Halia, you cannot kick Olive! And I don’t like what I heard coming from your mouth.”
As Kai set up the dominoes again, he began to feel really bad about what he had said to his sister. “Halia,” he called a few minutes later. Halia slowly came into the room. Kai pointed to the dominoes, which he had built in the shape of a smiley face. “I built this for you,” he said. “Go ahead—you can start it.”
Delighted, Halia pushed over the first domino, and Mom came in to watch as the room filled with the clicking of dominoes falling.
“You know,” Mom said thoughtfully, “one domino falling affects all the others, and that kind of thing happens with people too. For example, when we get angry, our reactions often affect more than one person.” Mom patted the dog. “Or creature.”
“Halia told you what happened before she kicked Olive, didn’t she?” Kai looked at the floor. “When I got mad and said mean things to Halia, I made her angry too. So she took it out on Olive. That was like the dominoes—from me to Halia to the dog.”
“Yes,” said Mom. “The Bible tells us to be careful what we say to each other. As Christians, we should build others up with our words instead of knocking them down. Instead of lashing out when we feel angry, we can trust Jesus to help us respond in a loving way.”
Kai looked at his sister. “I’m sorry I yelled and called you stupid, Halia. You’re not stupid—you’re really smart!”
“S’okay,” Halia said. She grinned and patted Olive’s head. “Good dog, Olive. Good dog.” -Elizabeth L. Toner
How about you?
Are you careful about the things you say? Your words have an effect on others. Like dominoes, they can continue to either build others up or knock them down. When you respond to someone in a kind, loving way, you’re showing them the love of Jesus and encouraging them to treat others that way too. Trust Jesus to help you build others up with your words.
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