Hi, friends! Over the years, there has been a lot of curiosity about the idea of nature vs. nurture. Researchers wonder which is the bigger influence on who a person will become: their nature — what’s passed down in their genes, or nurture — the environment they are brought up in and the care they are given.
While both seem to play a role in our personality and development, there’s a third factor at work here. Regardless of what’s passed down to us, genetically or otherwise, WE have a say in who we will become.
Our Verse of the Week, 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT, alludes to this very thing. It says,
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
Google defines “self-discipline” as: “the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.”
This means even if both our nature and our nurture have instilled in us one thing, with God’s help, we have the ability to choose something better. That’s just what Wendy did when she learned to forgive her attacker.
It may not come easy, but that same choice to forgive is one we’ve been given the self-discipline to act on as well.
Check out today’s Bible Study Companion for more!
BIBLE STUDY COMPANION
Let’s do this together!
Stacy
Reflect and Respond:
Why do you think offering forgiveness is so hard? What’s something you’ve learned that helps you to forgive?
P.S. Don’t forget, each Bible Study Companion is designed to be a standalone lesson, so it’s not necessary to complete the previous weeks before doing this one. If you’d like to catch up, though, you can access them below.