GOD COMMANDS RESPECT.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read 1 Peter 2:13-17.
Verse of the Day: “Show proper respect to everyone” (1 Peter 2:17, NIV).
Renee and her mom were having lunch at a restaurant with Kelly and her mom.
“I don’t like this!” Renee said in a loud voice, pointing to her hamburger.
Mom gently laid her hand on Renee’s forearm. “Let’s try again, Renee,” she said.
Renee frowned for a moment, then said, “Do I have to eat this?”
Her mother nodded. “I would like you to eat at least half of your hamburger and half of your french fries.”
“No!” Renee shouted. “I don’t want to.”
“Let’s try again,” Mom said again.
Renee wrinkled her brow for a moment. “May I have some ice cream, please?” she said, emphasizing the last word.
Mom said. “If you eat all of your hamburger and fries, you may have ice cream.” Renee thought for a moment, then began eating her hamburger happily. After dinner, the two girls went to the play area of the restaurant, leaving the mothers time to talk.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Kelly’s mom asked Renee’s mom.
Renee’s mom shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “We started playing ‘Let’s Try Again’ a few weeks ago. Some of Renee’s actions and attitudes started to really bother me, and I wanted her to understand that God commands us to respect each other. So I started explaining that to her. I wanted to teach her to be more respectful—you know, to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and so on. So anytime she forgets her manners or says something rude, I give her a chance to correct herself by saying, ‘Let’s try again.’ It seems to be working pretty well.”
“It sure does,” Kelly’s mom said. “I should try that with Kelly.”
“The game hasn’t just helped Renee. It’s helped me, too. Sometimes I have to say to myself, ‘Let’s try again,’ whenever I find myself acting disrespectfully toward others-even toward Renee. The ‘Let’s Try Again’ game is a good way to remember that God commands us to show proper respect to everyone-not just to our parents but to our nation’s leaders, to our church leaders … basically to everyone.”
“Mmm,” said Kelly’s mom as she finished chewing the bite of hamburger she had taken. “That’s something I need to remember.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to play ‘Let’s Try Again’ with you anytime.”
Kelly’s mom laughed. “You’ve got a deal!”
TO DO: Play “Let’s Try Again” with someone in your family sometime in the next twenty-four hours. If someone says something disrespectful or forgets to say “please” or “thank you,” give that person a chance to try again to show proper respect for the other person.
TO PRAY: “Thank you, Lord, for the grace to try again when we mess up.”
