The Meanest Kid
GOD DECIDES WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read 1 Peter 3:8-12.
Verse of the Day: “Be compassionate” (1 Peter 3:8, NIV).
Tyeka couldn’t believe her eyes. Kevin, the boy who lived next door, was sitting on his front steps, crying. She watched him for a few moments, trying to decide what to do.
Normally, Tyeka would have run to comfort someone who was crying. But Kevin was different. Kevin was probably the meanest person she knew. He was cruel to his own family’s pets and constantly teased Tyeka’s dog, Mittens. He even tore her dolls apart. For those reasons and more, Tyeka tried not to feel sorry for Kevin.
As she watched, his cries seemed to get louder, as if he knew she was watching. Why should I feel sorry for him? she asked herself. But even while she was thinking the words, she knew she would be wrong to try to pay him back by being mean, even though he was mean to her.
Finally, she threw up her hands and walked over to Kevin. “Are you OK?” she asked.
“Go away!” Kevin shouted.
Tyeka turned away, her feelings hurt. But after a moment she turned back and sat on the step next to Kevin.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Kevin sniffed loudly and wiped his tears with his sleeve. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Maybe I would,” she said.
“I locked myself out of my house,” he said. “And my parents won’t be home all day.”
“You’re home alone?” Tyeka asked. When he nodded, she really did feel sorry for him. She wondered if this were the first time he’d spent the whole day by himself. “You don’t have to stay here,” she said. “My mom’s home. You could . . . you could come over to my house until your parents get home.”
Kevin looked at Tyeka with surprise. “I could?” he said, as if he didn’t believe her. She nodded. He wiped his face on his sleeve. “Is—is that OK with your mom?”
Tyeka stood. “We could ask her.”
Kevin smiled. “OK,” he said.
Kevin followed Tyeka into the house. Tyeka saw a shocked look appear on her mom’s face when they entered the room, but it quickly disappeared. After Tyeka explained what had happened, she saw a proud look on Mom’s face. That look helped her realize that she had done the right thing by being nice-even to the meanest boy she knew.
TO DISCUSS: Do you think Tyeka did the right thing? Why or why not? Do you think it was easy for her to show compassion to Kevin? Why or why not? Do you think Tyeka acted as though she decided what was right or as if God decided? Who says it’s right to be compassionate?
TO PRAY: “We need your compassion. Lord, to fill us and overflow toward those who need it most.”