Bonus Bite- “We Deal with Our Problems” from House Rules by Jacob Hudgins

Please join Kate and Sheila as they tackle Rule # 7, We Deal with Our Problems, in House Rules by Jacob Hudgins. Lev. 19:17-18 gives us a great game plan. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” Why does God want us to make this difficult choice? Getting ‘it’ out in the open helps us to: maintain healthy relationships… We don’t want to give the devil a foothold. Stop sin before it spreads…Jesus teaches relationships are in constant need of maintenance, forgiveness, challenge, and reconciliation. How do we deal with our problems? The gift of discernment helps us to determine the best approach to discipline and confrontation. “Not every problem is a crisis.” The gift of courage is colossal. Hudgin made a powerful connection. The David who showed amazing courage in confronting and killing Goliath later on would refuse to deal with the problems of his own family. He did not want to challenge his kids and make them displeased with him for a season so he sacrificed their long-term flourishing and growing closer to God…which should be every parents’ goal for their children. The gift of humility is huge! 2 Tim 2:24-25 reminds us…”the LORD'S servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” Humility must be practiced. Let’s strive to give a determined effort to deal with our problems. Let’s put the broom down and give up sweeping important things under the rug. Let’s stop jumping to conclusions and seek to understand our loved ones and open up ourselves to the possibility that we are wrong. This mindset will help change avoiders into resolvers! Are you up for the challenge?