Sibling Frustration: The Hardest Place to Practice Your Faith

Hey, Carpool Crew. How's it going? Pastor Justin here, and I'm so glad you're joining us today. Now, this episode today is all about sibling frustration. We know that moment, right? I want to jump in with the one thing that I want you to remember: kindness to your siblings is one of the hardest places to practice your faith. Now, I know you might be thinking, 'Well, I don't have a sibling.' Guess what? If you have a friend, this applies to you. Listen to this verse from Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32: 'And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.' See, Paul, he wrote this letter from prison. Yeah, he was in prison yesterday on the Carpool Crew. He's in prison today on Carpooling. He was writing to believers in a city called Ephesus. Now, this is a big port town, right? Loud streets, mixed up families, everyone learning to live with one another, and they're really doing it as a church, right? These are new believers, new Christians. And Paul knew something that no one had said yet. The people close to you are the hardest to love. Now, strangers? Yeah, that's easy. The kid in the cul-de-sac you barely know? Easy. The brother who used your last clean towel or ate your last popsicle? Yeah, way harder. So Paul gave them a simple recipe. Be kind and be compassionate. Forgive each other. Then he gave them the reason why they should do these things. Because that is exactly what God did for you in Jesus, and he's pointing at you, Carpool Crew. See, you didn't forgive your siblings or your friends because they deserve it. You forgive them because Jesus already forgave you for a way bigger thing. The stuff that you don't even remember doing, the sins that we commit, he forgave us. See, if Jesus were sitting next to you in a car right now, he would probably say, 'The way you treat your brother or sister or friend in your neighborhood when nobody is watching is one of the loudest ways you tell me you love me. When they push your buttons today, I'll give you the strength to choose to be kind anyway.' Your sister grabs the bag of chips you were saving and pours half of them in a bowl, and half fall on the floor. Your little brother slams down a remote control because he's young. He doesn't totally know yet, and the batteries fall out, and they go under the couch, and now you don't know what to do. You can't lift a couch. And then after you said no for the third or fourth time that you don't wanna play with them, they go and they tell on you for something small. They become the tattletale, and you risk getting in trouble. Hey, try this this week, because I think we have some ideas that we could do that would make things a lot more fun this summer. First, the Five-Second Pause. We've talked about this before. The next time a sibling or a friend does something that makes you mad, count to five before you say a single word. Most arguments begin because no one waited, no one was listening. Second, the Announcement Move. Okay, this is a good move. Do the one thing for your siblings that they would never expect. Refill their water bottle, hand them the remote, make their bed for them. Oh my gosh, that'd be so great. Make their bed for them. Oh, that'd be such a cool move. Don't say a word. Anybody can be nice when people are watching, but quiet kindness is a different kind of kindness. Now, let's go back to that one thing I wanted you to remember for the ride. Kindness to your siblings or your friends is one of the hardest places to practice your faith. That's why it's so important to do it. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, I have a big announcement. We just launched a brand-new website, carpoolingwithjesus.com. Now, I am gonna go over a lot of the cool features of this amazing website over the next few episodes, but let me tell you this one right now. There are coloring sheets on the website. Go to carpoolingwithjesus.com and click the Carpool Crew right at the top, and you'll find a bunch of coloring sheets from different stories that we've talked about on the podcast. I hope you check it out, download some, and have a great time this summer. Now, before you go, let's answer this question together. When was the last time someone in your family chose kindness? This is a chance to celebrate each other. Say something kind. I hope you have a great day. I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.