TEXT: Proverbs 12:10

SUBJECT: Kids’ Sermon #46: Destructiveness

Kids, listen up please. This is the second Sunday afternoon of the month and time for a sermon that I prepared especially for you. I don’t think I’ll ask questions today, but I still hope you respect and receive the Word of God.

I hope you parents listen, too, because I’ve got a word for you at the end.

My talk today is on Destructiveness. The verse I read a minute ago presents a contrast: there are two kinds of people—the Bible says—those who "care for their beasts" and those who are "cruel". The beasts he had in mind are things like oxen or donkeys or horses—the kind of animals farmers owned in those days. Some men respect their animals, while others are mean to them.

What applies to horses and cows and oxen, also applies to plants, buildings, and other things. Some people take care of these things (or leave them alone) while others wreck them.

What is destructiveness? It is the desire to wreck things or the habit of doing it.

For example, some people like:

• To kick a dog.

• To squirt a cat

• To torture bugs.

• To stomp on flowers

• To carve their initials in a tree

• To draw on a wall

• To spraypaint graffiti on a building

• To break a window

• To start a fire

• To wreck things that belong to other people

This is what I mean by destructiveness. It’s the pleasure some people feel in messing things up. Or the habit of smashing things just to see them ruined.

By "destructiveness", therefore, I don’t mean an accident, like throwing a ball through a window by mistake or stepping on a toy you didn’t see. Mistakes are not sinful, they’re accidents.

I also don’t mean wrecking things once or twice. I was never destructive, but once, when I was a teenager, I was stringing some beads, and I couldn’t get one on. This made me so mad that I threw them all down and made quite a mess! This was sinful anger or impatience, but I didn’t make a habit of it…

You ought never to wreck things, of course, but if you have—a few times—although you sinned, but you’re not destructive.

Destructiveness is not losing your temper once in a while, but always wrecking things for the fun of it.

Do you like seeing things wrecked? Are you always smashing things up—on purpose? If so, you’re destructive.

What’s wrong with being destructive?

First of all, it breaks the Law of God. At the beginning of time, God gave us power over the created world. The Bible word is dominion—

But what’s the dominion for? Is it for destroying things? If so, why did God put things in order in the first place? In the beginning,

In the beginning, the world was something like a messy room—nothing in its place, but everything scattered all over the place. But in six days, God put everything right. Now, if He did that, why would He want us to put everything back into a mess?

No, dominion was given to us so that we would take care of the world. Adam was commanded to "Keep the garden"—not ride his bike over the lawn and pick the pears and throw them at the squirrels, but to take care of it.

The command first given to Adam is still in effect. God wants us to take care of the world, not to trash it. When we tear things up on purpose and laugh about it, we disobey the Law of God. And that’s not right or safe.

Secondly, it’s a kind of stealing. When you break a window, somebody has to pay for it—and most of the time, it’s not you. The $100 it takes to replace the window does not belong to you. But because the owner has to spend it on the window you broke, it’s as though you stole his money. Is stealing right? No, it isn’t,

…is still in the Bible. Wrecking things on purpose is stealing.

Thirdly, it breaks the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule says,

Do you want others to wreck your things? Would you like to see kids pop the tire on your bike—and then laugh about it? If not, don’t wreck their things. It’s just as bad in you as it is in them. And maybe even worse—because most kids haven’t heard the Law of God or His Gospel as often as you have. This makes your sins worse than theirs.

In the fourth place, wrecking things is the devil’s work. God made a beautiful world. But, even though there are traces of beauty all around us, the world is not what it used to be. There is suffering and sickness and violence and pollution and ugliness and death all around us. And all of it can be traced to the devil. The Lord said he was

He destroys human lives—and everything else he can get his hands on. Do you want to do the work of the devil? If you don’t, then don’t be destructive.

In the fifth place, destroying things is very much unlike the Lord Jesus Christ. As far as I can recall, our Lord only destroyed one thing—a fig tree—and He had a special reason to do that. Other than that, he gave life and health and happiness—rather than taking them away.

God wants us to be like His Son. Being destructive is not the way to do it.

Sixthly, if you destroy the things of others, others will destroy your things. The Bible says,

Do you want your things destroyed? If you don’t, don’t destroy other people’s things.

If you’re not destructive—thank God, that is a great blessing! You won’t have this sin to repent of or this habit to break.

But if you are destructive—if you get a kick out of wrecking things or hurting things—you need to stop it. Let me tell you how:

First of all, you’ve got to be saved. The main reason that kids are destructive is because they’re not saved. Maybe they go to church or have family devotions at night, but they’re not saved. Because they’re not saved, they’re envious or malicious or hateful or have other wicked things in their hearts that will come out in destructiveness. If you want to quit being destructive, you’ve got to become

You become one by repenting of your sins and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the second place, you’ve got to practice self-control. Many kids are destructive—not so much because they’re cruel—but because they have bad tempers. I grew up with a boy this way. Most of the time, he was a very nice guy. But when he got mad, he went berserk! I saw him smash a bike to piece, all because he couldn’t get a nut loose on the axle!

Have you ever heard of a football player named Jack Reynolds? He had a nickname, Hacksaw Reynolds. You know how he got it? Because, when he was in college, his team lost a game, and he got so mad about it that he took a hacksaw and cut a Volkswagen in half!

When you feel anger coming on, pray for control and put things down and walk away and ask your parents to help you.

Thirdly, stay away from destructive kids—Proverbs 13:20. It’s better to be lonely than destructive.

Fourthly, remember what the creation is—God’s handiwork.

Hold your kids accountable for being destructive—both of their things and the things of others. If destructiveness is a sin, you do them no favor by letting them get away with it. Be aware of what they’re doing and call them on it.

Let me tell you a story. About twelve years ago, we invited a family over for dinner. At the time, they had three kids, aged 5-10. Their little boy was playing with my Slinky (don’t ask me why a 30 year-old man had a Slinky—that’s not the point). In any event, the boy wrecked it. His Dad made him apologize to me and—the next Sunday, he had a new one for me—which the boy had to buy with his own money. I didn’t need a new Slinky, of course, but it was the principle of the thing. The man is a good brother and his boy has grown up to be a responsible young man.

The next week another family came over. They had six kids, I think, aged from a baby to about 15. One of their boys (I forget which one) broke my new Slinky. His Dad brought it to me, made the boy say, "Sorry"—and that was it. He never replaced it. That the was kind of man the father was—irresponsible. He didn’t pay his bills, he didn’t take care of his family, he borrowed money and didn’t pay it back—in short he was a deadbeat. And, as far as I can tell, his boy grew up just like him—irresponsible.

How much the replaced Slinky contributed to the first boy’s maturity, I can’t say. How much the un-replaced Slinky added to the other boy’s irresponsibility, I not sure. But I know this much: Good stewardship is not natural, but has to be learned. If it’s not learned in childhood, it’s likely to result in very serious problems in the future—and maybe lifelong ones.

Why inflict a lifelong injury on your kids by letting them wreck things now—and get away with it!