Not on Our Own | Self-Control Character Time Activity

Not on Our Own | Self-Control Activity

Self-Control is: “Rejecting my own desires and doing what is right.” This means you say “no” to doing the wrong thing and choose to do the right thing instead.

Supplies Needed
A few dirty pennies
2 small bowls
Salt
Vinegar
Cotton balls 

Tell your child you have some pennies you want them to clean. Give them one of the bowls with the pennies in it. Then dip a cotton ball in vinegar and give it to your child to clean the pennies with. Once they have tried this for a little while and realized it’s not working very well, tell them you have something else to try. In the other bowl, mix ¼ cup of vinegar with 1 tsp. of salt and stir until the salt is dissolved. Put the pennies into this mixture and have your child use it to clean them.

Talk About It: When you tried to clean the pennies with just the vinegar, that’s like when we try to be good and show self-control on our own. We can’t do it. It might work for a little bit, but we’ll eventually end up in a situation where we are unable to show self-control. Once we have believed in Jesus to save us, however, the Holy Spirit lives in us. The Bible says in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” It is when we let the Holy Spirit work in us that we are able to show self-control, like how you were able to clean the pennies when you used the vinegar with the salt in it instead of just the vinegar. If you have believed in Jesus to save you, pray and ask God to help you be self-controlled in one area in which you have trouble showing self-control.

(Original idea from: www.kidsofintegrity.com, https://www.kidsofintegrity.com/lessons/obedience/hands-options/shining-jesus)