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Tips for Sibling Success

Siblings can be a huge pain, but God still wants us to love our brothers and sisters.

Tip 1: Pray.
Even when you’re bothered by your siblings, God encourages us to pray for them. As we pray, God can change our hearts. It’s not always easy to know how to pray for our siblings, but you can begin by trying these prayer starters.

Pray that your brother or sister . . .
• desires to know God above all else (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 6:33).
• learns and follows God’s ways by reading the Bible (Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 119:11).
• seeks wisdom and make good choices (Psalm 37:5 and Proverbs 3:5-6).
• gets along well with others (Luke 6:31 and 1 John 4:11).

Tip 2: Be filled with fruit.
Before you run off to the refrigerator to grab apples and oranges, check out Galatians 5:22-26. Show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. You can’t change your siblings, but you can work on having a positive attitude toward them.

Tip 3: Spend time together.
You may not enjoy the same activities, but is there something you can do together? Maybe you can play a game or even help with a chore. Try working together instead of against each other. Hebrews 3:13 is a great reminder to “encourage each other daily.”

Tip 4: Listen and ignore.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us there is a time for everything. Is your sibling trying to help you with something? Do they need to talk to someone? Sometimes, you should listen to what they have to say. Are they being mean or annoying? It may be better to ignore them and move on. Read Romans 12:9-21 for inspiration.  

Tip 5: Apologize and forgive.
Your siblings make mistakes. So do you. Acknowledge when you mess up with your actions or words and apologize. Be quick to forgive when your sibling messes up too. Refer to Colossians 3:12-14 for guidance.

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