Tuesday, July 2, 2013

July 2 – Tactful Actions

But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7 

Jesus was the last to condemn this woman caught in adultery. He was tactful…He didn’t actually accuse her—He simply wrote in the sand. What did He write? No one know…except maybe that woman. Jesus didn’t accuse the men of sinning…He merely said that whoever didn’t sin could throw a stone at her. The punishment for adultery in those days was stoning. Those men admitted to themselves that they had sinned…and walked away. Jesus was very tactful with the accusers and the woman. Would you do the same? 

Training Tip – Give your kids a small bowl of jello—any color will do. You may want to do this outside. Ask them to make a ball of the jello with their hands…and then ask them to make a nice square of jello. They won’t be able to do it. Jello will just slither around making its own shape. That’s how our uncontrolled words are—slimy and slithery. Talk about how our words are like Jello—and how we want to make them kind—like being perfectly round or exactly square. Taming our words is like trying to shape jello. We just need to ask God to help us say the right words to others. 

Now give everyone another bowl of jello and a spoon. Enjoy! 

Lord Jesus, we admit that we too are sinners. Forgive us for doing things we shouldn’t do, for thinking thought we shouldn’t think, for saying things we shouldn’t say. Help us to be stronger, to be more tactful…to be more like You every hour of every day.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

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