Supplies needed: 1 egg, your family, this devotional
Optional: Bible, Journal, Pen/Pencil
Begin with a short prayer thanking the Lord for this time & asking Him to speak to you & teach you. Then read and discuss the following: (Note: encourage everyone to participate as appropriate for their age level! This is important for retaining and understanding the material.)
Proverbs 5:1 – 2 “My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge.” (NASB)
“Give attention to my wisdom” “Incline your ear to my understanding”
What does it mean to do those thing? How do you do it? To understand, let’s think about the words used. Give attention. What is something that you pay attention to?
Incline your ear. What do you use your ears for? How do you listen?
Another way to say this is, “My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.” (NLT)
Pay attention! Listen carefully!
When you are doing something carefully, you are taking care with it. We have an activity to do that will help us to remember what it means to be careful.
Have everyone stand up in a circle. Take the egg and pass it around the circle. Then take a step back & pass the egg again. Repeat this as long as you are comfortable. The goal is to not break the egg. (If it does get broken, that is a lesson too! So, simply clean it up & use it as an example during the rest of the devotional.)
We treated the egg with care, because we didn’t want it to get broken. If we are trying to be careful with something, it changes how we treat it. How do you think we can treat God’s Words with care?
One reason we are supposed to treat God’s Words with care, is because of what it will lead to. According to this verse, if we do that, then we will “observe discretion and our lips will reserve discretion”. What in the world does that mean?
Well, let’s read it another way. In the Message Bible, it says it this way: “Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.”
We were careful with the egg because we didn’t want to break it. We should be careful to pay attention to God’s Words because we want to live well. He knows best how to live. He knows what actions and values will lead us into good lives—and He wants us to live good lives! He wants things to go well for us! So, it’s important that we listen to Him so we can learn His ways. If we do, the result will be that we live good lives.
Close in prayer. Thank the Lord for teaching you and leading you all into connection with Him. Pray over your family that you all would know Him and walk according to His ways all your days.