Credit or No Credit?

I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

JOHN 5:30

REMEMBER THAT SCIENCE PROJECT you worked on with a partner? Remember how you ended up doing most of the work, but your partner took credit anyway?

Maybe you haven’t been in this exact situation, but you probably know what it feels like to have someone else take credit for your work. Not good. It’s irritating when you know you put in the effort and another person gets the congratulations or good grade. When that happens, you can stand up for yourself and for your work. You can tell the person how you feel. And you can take credit for the work you did.

When these situations happen, it’s frustrating. But here’s something to think about. God is the reason we get the opportunities we do. God is the cause behind our abilities. God is the support and encouragement that keeps us going. So even when we’ve done the work and put in the time, it’s important that we also give credit where it’s due: without God, none of the things we do would be possible.

DO

Play this game with a family member. Get ten small slips of paper. On five of them, write, “Credit.” On the other five, write, “No credit.” On a separate paper, together list items you have going on in your life now, like gymnastics, a math quiz, moving, or cooking class. Turn over the slips of paper and mix them up.

Go through your list together. For each item, choose a slip of paper. If it says, “Credit,” practice what it sounds like when you give God the credit for the item on the list. If it says, “No credit,” practice what it sounds like if you don’t give God credit for the item. What’s the difference? Talk about how it makes you feel to say and hear the “Credit” and “No credit” statements.

PRAY

Dear God,

Thank you for making everything in my life possible. Please help me remember to give you the credit. Amen.

READ

Proverbs 22:4; John 5:31-38