Latest / The Family Teams Podcast / Ep. 199 | Healing Sibling Rivalries
Transcript
- 0:00you're the one and this is but this is true too but you're the one pouting outside right like like the table you come sit at the table hey guys welcome to the five minute fatherhood podcast i'm your co-host jeff beth key along with my friend and mentor jeremy prior join us monday through friday as we chat about quick tips skills and ways to help equip you on your journey as a father to build your multi-generational family team on mission stay tuned
- 0:32What's up, guys? Welcome to another 5-Minute Fatherhood. So is there something in the scriptures that teaches us how to heal sibling rivalry? One of the most toxic things that can happen in a family between siblings is when there's rivalry. And you might be experiencing that in a little ways with little kids, but man, if it gets epic, if it gets like Cain and Abel...
- 0:53Like, bad things happen to your family multigenerationally. And so I actually think there's a very specific thing that the Bible says about how to heal sibling rivalry. And it's right in Luke 15 in the story of the prodigal son. It's about to erupt in this guy's family. It's been erupting, and it's amazing how the father deals with this, right?
- 1:14So you have the younger brother, you guys know the story, comes back, has squandered the family's inheritance, and the father just accepts him back in, throws a party, and out in the field is this older brother. And he's like, oh, just stewing. He's like, I've slayed my whole life for you. What are you doing? The father comes out to his son.
- 1:30And the son just says, like, why are you throwing a party for that kid? He's just ruining our family. And the father's response is fascinating. So what you expect is the father's smackdown, right? At this moment, it's like, your son is—I'm the dad. I want to celebrate my son just came home. I thought he was dead. I expect the father to be angry. But the words the father says is this, My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
- 1:59Like that is how you end. It's all right there. My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. Like the thing that the son doesn't believe, the son is still trying to get something from the father, right? That's the reason why the son is out there. And this is what creates sibling rivalry. If you have a strong family culture...
- 2:19What could happen is that they could begin to see, well, there's scarce resources from the father, and so I need to get whatever I can get from God. Or this rebellious kid is taking his attention. And so all that stuff can just really foment resentment between siblings. And what children need to hear in their heart is, you are my son or daughter, and everything I have is yours.
- 2:41And so that is such a healing thing to be spoken over your kids, to believe at some deep level. I've just been pondering that phrase for the last couple of weeks, just like, oh, in my own relationship with the Father, it's healing something inside of me. And I think that there's something that can be healing inside of family relationships if we can really get a hold of what Jesus is saying here.
- 3:03Yeah, and you used the word I was going to use of that whole kind of layers underneath the tones in those words between the father and the older brother is scarcity and abundance, right? That the son is believing in scarcity, right? That I have to grab and take what is mine. And if he gets something, that means I don't.
- 3:22And the father is answering with saying, no, the kingdom is a bigger table where everyone can feast and you have a feast set for you as well. And so I think that is almost a metaphor or a tone that you have to take with all the kids of like, hey, all that is mine is yours as well. I'm giving you a feast as well. You're the one, but this is true too, but you're the one pouting outside, right? Like the table, you come sit at the table, right? Like that's you, and I think in that story, Jesus is always talking to the Pharisees and the religious people of the day.
- 3:49Kind of saying like, hey, guys, I'm actually not condemning you guys. You're just not eating the feast, right? And so I think, yeah, I think that everyone is open to the table to come and feast at the table of Jesus is a huge, huge deal. And I think that kind of spirit and that tone is really what kind of keeps sibling rivalry at bay.
- 4:11Hey guys, can I just ask you a quick favor? If you could just pause real quick. Well, actually after I'm done with this, so it makes sense. And about for about 30 seconds and just rate and review this podcast. We can 10 X the number of dads we help through this content. If our podcast can be found by more dads. And one of the weird main things about this podcast game is that how they get ranked and how they get in front of other people essentially is because of how it gets rated and reviewed. So if you can just give a quick, honest rating and review, we would greatly, greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys.