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Matthew 5:43-47
Think about that word “enemy.” An enemy is someone who actively opposes someone or something. We might not have enemies like that, but we do know people we don’t really get along with. Jesus tells us not to just find a way to “get along” but to show love to them, to show respect even when you don’t get along.
Can you think of someone you have a hard time getting along with? Write their initial in the space below. Look at the clock and write down the time on the next line.
Initial:
Time of day:
For the next four days, challenge yourself to stop and pray for that person at the time you’ve written down. Ask God to help you show love and respect to that person.
Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do. In today’s verse, Peter gives us some ideas for how we can do that. Check it out:
Agree with one another: We always see everything the same, but we can look for ways to listen and respect other helpful points of view.
Be understanding: Try to see things from the other person’s perspective and put yourself in their shoes.
Love one another: Show compassion and find ways to help.
Be kind and tender: Be sensitive to the needs of others and be careful with their feelings.
Be humble: Put others first.
Which one of these comes easiest to you? Draw a box around it.
Which one is hardest? Circle it three times.
Stop and pray. Ask God to help you treat others with respect this week – especially if you don’t always get along.
When someone hurts you, what’s your first response?
Just for a minute, think about what might happen if you responded that way instead of responding with respect.
What if instead of paying back a wrong with a wrong, you stopped and thought about, “what would a respectful response be?” If respect is showing others they are important to you by what you say and do, what could you say or do to change the outcome?
One thing that helps: remember how much God loves you! God chooses to treat everyone the same. No matter what we say or do, God loves us. God loves and forgives and listens and cares for each one of us. We can do that for others too!
According to today’s verse, who deserves proper respect?
V R N Y O E E E
Really? Are you sure we’re supposed to show respect to every single person, even when we don’t get along?
Yep. Everyone. Even someone that’s hard to get along with. Why? Because everyone is made in the image of God, just like you. And because everyone is someone Jesus died for, just like you. We show proper respect to everyone not because they’ve earned it but because Jesus loves them. And when we show proper respect, we’re helping everyone around us feel that love and acceptance too.
Color the Verse
Start at the beginning and color in every other letter to reveal today’s verse.
As your kid starts their day, acknowledge a time when your kid showed respect when you asked them to do something and they did it, even if it wasn’t something they wanted to do.
At a meal, have everyone at the table answer this question: “Who is someone you disagree with? How can you show them respect even though they act or think differently than you?”
While on the go, ask your kid: “Who is someone in your life that you respect a lot?”
Pray for each other: “Jesus, help us to follow your example of loving people who think or live differently than we do. May we always show everyone just how valuable they are to You by how we treat them.”
