What does God say?
Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.—Proverbs 11:17
The porcupine lives in the woods of North America. Some people have given this animal the nickname “pricklepig” because of its prickly spines. The porcupine has about three hundred thousand sharp quills covering its back, sides, and tail. When another animal comes too close, the porcupine makes its quills stand up. It looks like a giant pincushion! As soon as the curious animal tries to sniff or bite the porcupine, it gets a nose or mouthful of pain. Other animals soon learn to leave the prickly porcupine alone.
Have you ever known people who are like prickly porcupines? Whenever someone new comes along, they act unfriendly and pretty soon the new friend goes away. If we want to have friends, we need to be kind to people and talk with them. We can ask them questions, share our toys, and invite them to play with us.
It pleases God when we are kind to others. When we are friendly to people, they will want to be friends with us. It’s no fun being a lonely, prickly porcupine!
What do you say?
• What animal may get an unhappy surprise from the porcupine?
• Why does the porcupine have the nickname “pricklepig?”
• What can you do to be a friend to someone new?
• Why do you think God asks us to be kind to others?
