Children’s Sermon

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

 

No Easy Answers

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Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

 

No Easy Answers

 

By Lois Parker Edstrom

In the Bible we learn about a man named Habakkuk who complained to God about people who do bad things. He questioned God about why there is so much trouble, why people who hurt others are sometimes not punished as they should be.

We could ask the same questions. Why are there bullies and why do these bullies hurt good kids. Sometimes it seems as if bullies don’t receive the punishment they deserve.

You may have experienced something like this yourself. Perhaps someone calls you nasty names or hurts you with unkind words. Maybe a bully at school pushes or shoves you, causing you to fall. It doesn’t seem fair that bad things happen to good kids. These are hard questions and there are no easy answers.

Habakkuk tells us that God says, of the people who make bad choices, “their spirit is not right in them.” Perhaps bullies haven’t learned about God’s Spirit of Love. Often bullies are kids who don’t feel loved and they try to make themselves feel important by hurting others.

There are several ways of dealing with bullies and your teachers and parents can help you with that. The lesson of God’s words seems to be that we are not to fret or worry about the punishment bullies receive – God will take care of those concerns.

And then God tells Habakkuk, “…the righteous will live by … faith. (2:4). These are the people, the kids, who try to do the right thing. Keep on living your good life and look to God for strength and direction.

We are to live with God’s love in our hearts and we are to show God’s love to others. That is our truth and our faith.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2012, Richard Niell Donovan