Family Talk Night Light for Parents

Father’s Day Gift

When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

It was the day before Father’s Day. Hank, a ten-year-old, and his dad were in a store together, but in different aisles. Hank was penniless and still hadn’t figured out what to give his father the next day. His eyes found a display of golf balls—his father’s favorite brand. Hank knew his father would love those balls! Quickly, he hid a box of three balls under his shirt. Almost immediately, though, Hank was uncomfortable. He realized he’d done wrong. Reluctantly, he returned the box to the shelf and walked away.

Years later, Hank admitted to his dad that he still felt awful about the Father’s Day he didn’t give a card or gift. His father replied, “Son, I remember that year. I watched you take those balls off the shelf that day in the store. I suspected you were about to steal them for me, and I felt so sad. But then you put them back. You probably thought I was hurt that you didn’t give me a present, but watching you return those balls was the best Father’s Day present I ever received.”

This tale of Hank and his father, inspired by an anonymous story in God’s Little Devotional Book for Dads, serves as an important reminder of God’s promise to always provide a “way out” of temptation. Tomorrow, why don’t you share 1 Corinthians 10:13—along with the story of Hank and the golf balls—with your kids?

Before you say good night…

What are the biggest temptations facing your family right now?

How can you help each other find the “way out” God promises?

Dear God, sometimes it is so hard to resist the allures that surround us. Thank You for the promise of a way out of every tempting situation. We humbly ask that You show our children the way out when they too are tempted. Amen.

• From Night Light For Parents, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
  Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Illustration adapted from God’s Little Devotional Book for Dads (Tulsa, Okla.: Honor Books, 1995).