Join The Resistance

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
 I will, with God's help.

I believe this question is often the most difficult for us to truly understand what we are promising during Baptismal service. First for most of us it is difficult to define sin and secondly many of us have a hard really believing in the grace we have been promised.
When sin separates us from all that we love. 
A few definitions for all of us:
  • Sin- trying to fulfill our desires rather than God’s and in doing so distorting our relationship with God and those around us.
  • Repent- to turn around and change what we are doing that takes us away from God
Sin is more than simply not following the 10 Commandments but more about what is in your heart and how that separates you from everything else. Often evil slips into our lives in small ways through things that are good, for example our desire to follow God and to stay away from sin can be distorted into judgment of others without any charity or understanding of their own position.  That judgment can lead us to walk away for people who truly need our help and compassion. It leads us to act as if we are better and more entitled to God’s love and grace because of our own actions. Our fears can be exaggerated to the point that they control us and
Join the Resistance against Evil
Copyright of Disney
we no longer seek out relationships in others. Our reliance on ourselves rather than God can lead us to believe that we own the earth and that we do not need to care for God’s creation. Or the most insidious is that the belief that we are anonymous leads us to distain and anger rather than love and understanding.

You see, teaching our children how to resist evil is more than teaching them to follow the rules. We need to give them a worldview that teaches them that they can be fearless in the way they love and care for all. Although it is a big task it does not need to be a daunting or difficult task. Our own actions teach our children more than a good talk will. If we are monitoring our own actions and showing them when we misstep and how we repent and ask God’s forgiveness they will begin to understand that resistance to evil is a life long discipline. Allowing them to see who we are when no one is looking is the key because they are always looking.

Teach them to be kind first. 
The most important skill to we can teach them is to be kind to all at all times. We can harp on it so that it becomes second nature to them. While kindness is only the beginning is becomes  a way of life that colors our view and approach to the world and solidifies our understanding of who God is. Kindness is the first step in training and leading the resistance. 

Conversation Starters:
  • What keeps you away from other people?
  • What do you do when you make mistakes that hurt others? Do you act differently when you think you won’t be caught?
  • What is God’s reaction when we make other things more important than God?
  • How do you say you’re sorry and try to fix the problem that you have created?
  • How do you believe God responds to your apology and your attempt to fix the problem?
  • Is anyone perfect? What does this about how we should treat others when we think no one is looking?

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