eKidz Devotional: All About CharacterSample

Imagine someone hated you,  and this person spent years making your life miserable. Because of them, you were taken far away from your home and family, and you even ended up in jail. Now imagine that one day, this person and their entire family are in danger, and there’s only one person who can save them — YOU.

What would you do? Would you look the other way and let them suffer? Would you tell them they deserve what they’re getting because of how you were treated? Or would you choose to show the kindness you wish you’d been shown, and help them?

Joseph found himself in this exact situation in today’s Bible story. His brothers had always been jealous of him and treated him rudely, and one day they got so tired of him that they sold him to slave traders who took him far away to Egypt. After several years and miracles, Joseph eventually became an important leader in Egypt, and when a terrible famine happened, he was the one who controlled the food the country had stored up. Then, one day, Joseph’s brothers came to buy food from the Egyptians to feed their starving families. Just like that, they were standing in front of Joseph, but they had no idea who he was because they hadn’t seen him in so long.

It would have been easy for Joseph to silently send them away or yell at them for how they’d treated him. He could have kicked them out empty-handed, but he didn’t. Joseph showed godly character by choosing to forgive his brothers, and then he graciously took care of them and their families.

In the first episode of “The Last Portal?,” Lex and Brooks showed up in Sanctuaria ready to arrest Darius because of how he had taken some Portal Stars. Darius probably wasn’t too happy to have them along on the quest after they tried to arrest him . . . but then he unexpectedly found himself with an opportunity to lose his soon-to-be captors. Check out this clip to hear how Darius reacted:

Darius didn’t have to help Lex and Brooks by sharing his supplies with them, but he showed godly character by choosing to do the right thing even though it wasn’t convenient for him. Darius knew godly character produces good fruit in our lives, and that helped him make the right choice!

Ask yourself: Who’s someone you know who has godly character? What are some ways you think we can show good/godly character?

Challenge yourself: Identify your strengths—the key to having legendary character starts with knowing what you’re good at so you know how God can use you! Make a list of three to five character traits you’re good at showing (like joy, patience, or perseverance), then ask yourself how God can use those strengths to help you make right choices.

Pray: God, thank You for filling Your Word with great examples of godly character I can learn from. Help me always make right choices even when it’s hard, because I know that will produce good fruit in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.