Living In Harmony

Psalm 133:1 “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” Our eldest Kyan had a really rough day yesterday. After what he felt was an unfair scolding from Elaine, he threw a tantrum. Then our youngest Nate Nate went and destroyed the Minecraft creation Kyan had worked on for hours. He threw another tantrum. By the time our daily devotional came around before bedtime, Kyan was totally pooped and really ready for the day to be over. I explained a bit about game theory and how humans are probably wired to employ a strategy of reciprocity when dealing with others. But God calls us a higher standard. “Jesus said, ‘if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.’ Kyan, you know that if you want to start a company someday, the bigger the vision the more excited people will be to join you. Why shoot for a normal goal when you can shoot for a big, hairy audacious goal? I know it feels unfair, and I can explain why Mama has the right to raise her voice while you don’t, but that’s not really the point. Even if she was being totally unreasonable, God calls you to and then empowers you to live up to an impossible standard of loving even when it’s unfair. Because that’s what Jesus did.” Lord, thank you for comforting my son. Thank you for teachable moments, and thank you for moments with the greatest teacher the world has ever known. Thank you for empowering us to live in harmony with our brothers and sisters. In your son’s name, Amen.