When We Mess Up

One study revealed that as many as 40 percent of believers struggle with guilt because they are afraid they are displeasing God. Guilt is a normal human emotion that the Holy Spirit often uses to convict of sin. Second Corinthians 7:10 says: For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. Kids need to understand that they will give in to temptation sometimes. Only Jesus is perfect and sinless. The feeling of guilt is designed to bring us back to God, not to consume us with fear and take over our lives. Kids (and adults) tend to default to a works-based view of pleasing God. You can help your kids understand that we can’t do enough good things to deserve to go to heaven and we also can’t do enough bad things to make God stop loving us. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. When we mess up, we can turn to Him and ask for forgiveness.

Here’s how we discussed this topic and how you can discuss at home: 

Discuss: What are some temptations kids face?

Discuss: When kids do give into temptation and mess up, what are some ways they may try to handle that?

Discuss: What does God have to say about that?

Say: Only Jesus faced temptation and beat it every time. The rest of us mess up. A lot. Some people sin and try to hide it. Some people try to pretend it isn’t a big deal. Some people try to do good things to make up for it. Some people feel terrible guilt and just feel ashamed forever about what they did. None of these are the answer for really dealing with our sin. 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God loves us and He knows we will mess up. We can turn to Him and ask for His forgiveness. We don’t have to hide. Jesus died on the cross for all the wrong things we do. When we sin, we can trust Him for making a way for us to be made right again.