I’m so glad you’re joining us on our Biblical Siblings Series on Cultivating Sibling Kindness! At the end of my blog post you’ll find the other great articles written by some fabulous bloggers on cultivating sibling love.
Around the beginning of the year I decided I was going to go converse with my boys over dinner and hear their thoughts on this question — Why do you think God gave us brothers and sisters?
My kids gave me lot of great thoughts so I jotted them down. Then we talked about the different siblings in the Bible and we briefly discussed how they showed brotherly love to each other or how they hurt each other. We came up with a long list of siblings.
The Bible is full of so many inspiring stories and examples we can glean from on what God intended for our sibling relationships and what he did not.
We have popular stores like Cain and Able, Joseph and his brothers and some obscure ones like James and John or Rahab and her siblings all full of great lessons. So let’s dive in with Moses but follow the rest of the bloggers below to read more biblical sibling lessons.
Biblical Siblings: Moses, Aaron and Miriam
I love seeing how God uses Aaron’s giftedness and ability to encourage Moses in his calling and give him purpose. When Moses made excuses of why he couldn’t talk to Pharaoh God appointed Aaron to be his spokesperson. In Exodus 4:14-16 God says, “I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.” I have skipped over this last part so many times but isn’t it wonderful to see how God points that out, “he will be glad to see you”. Such a tenderness and kindness in their relationship is revealed in that verse.
Read these verses with your kids and ask them–What can we learn from how Moses and Aaron in this passage? What makes you glad to see your brother/sister?
They worked as a team to lead God’s people out of slavery. In verse 16 it says, “I will help both of you… He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your moth and as if you were God to him.” As a mother of three boys I don’t take this teamwork for granted. I love stepping back and watching the times my boys encourage each other and work together.
Ask your child–When you and your brother/sister work as a team how does it make you feel? Do you know that you and your brother/sister are on the same team? As a family we are a team but we are also on God’s team. What can I do to remind you that you and your brother are on the same team so you don’t need to go against each other? What acts of kindness do you see Aaron showing his brother in this passage?
Now if you have read the whole account of Moses you know it wasn’t the perfect family and Aaron didn’t always use his ability and giftedness to encourage Moses in his calling like the time he allowed the people to make an idol while they waited for Moses to come down from Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 32: 1-4)
Then you have Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron. I am completely fascinated by how she is so brave and is willing to risk her life to make sure her brother is safe. Here you see siblings looking out for each other. In Exodus 2:4-7 “His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.” Don’t you love seeing when your kids are concerned for their siblings? It’s such a tender moment for my mama heart. In verse 7 all of the sudden Miriam is beside the Pharaohs daughter, she’s quick not just on her feet but with her thinking. “Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” Here you see here once again using her intelligence to protect her brother and keep her family together.
After reading this passage ask your child–What do you see Miriam do in this passage for her brother? How can we show our siblings that we care for them and are concerned about them?
I enjoyed reading this familiar Bible story and focusing on their caring brotherly interactions. The kindness, courage and bond they felt for each other was moving and it’s what I pray for my boys to develop in their relationship.
The Fun Activity That Curbs Tattling
The reality is this activity is not going to end tattling but it will curb it and help you create an atmosphere of kindness and love. It takes intentionality to be kind!
How it works: Every time your child does something kind for his sibling he can punch a hole over one of the circles. The sibling can also punch a hole in the card if his brother does something kind for him but not for the same thing. Each hole is punched for a different act of kindness.
Tell your child they are only allowed to tell you about the kind things their siblings are doing. So no tattling! Our kids know the difference between tattling and telling. So clarify the difference with your kids in case they are confused.
Once their cards are full you can give them a treat at the end of the week. I like to ask them to bring their cards to the table at dinner and each one has a turn to “brag” about their siblings and share what they did to be kind.
Tips: Make sure to hype it up! You can start a new card each week but do not have one card roll over beyond a week. Kids lose interest if they haven’t reached their goal after the first week. Let your child punch the hole.
Punch Cards
Download your printable Kindness Punch Cards HERE give each child a card and be prepared to be amazed! I also made one without the word “punch” on it because I have boys I quickly realized that was not a good word to have on our kindness cards. Go here —-> Sibling Kindness Card
I encourage you not to skip the punch cards. It will be easy enough to just say this week we will focus on being kind to each other and then get a treat at the end of the week. But when you add the component of having your children punch a hole through the kindness card every time they do a random act of kindness it gives them something concrete to see their progress. Also it will encourage them and remind them they can actually be kind to each other.
Acts of Kindness Ideas for Siblings
Here are some fun ideas that encourage kindness amongst siblings.
- Help a sibling with a task.
- Say something encouraging or kind.
- Pray for them out loud.
- Play a game together.
- Do their chore.
- Let them go first at something.
- Write a kind message.
- Share your favorite toy.
- Read a story together.
- Teach them something new.
- Use please and thank you when talking with them.
- Play their favorite game.
- You’re are the best brother/sister because… message
- One thing I love about you… message.
- Make them a snack
- Draw them a picture.
- Let them watch their favorite TV show.
- Put their toys away for them.
More Biblical Siblings Blog Posts that Cultivates Sibling Love Series
We have 5 awesome bloggers who have joined us in our Biblical Siblings Series on cultivating sibling love:
Inspired By Family sharing on Cultivating Sibling Kindness,
Pages and Puddles on Cultivating Sibling Forgiveness,
Lessons from Home on Mary and Martha,
One Determined Life on 5 Ways to Build Trust with Our Siblings,
Joy in the Journey on Rachel and Leah .
Stop by each blog and gain insight and ideas on the various biblical siblings to share with your children!
