Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)

We all want their children to live effective and productive lives. The only way to do that is to raise them to have good character. But how do we do that? Here’s an activity based on 2 Peter 1:5-8 that you can do with your kids to help them understand the process. 

Supplies: 36 building blocks

Overview: Starting with a foundation of faith consisting of eight building blocks, build a tower of character, each new row representing a new character trait.. With each new level, use one less block. You’ll end with one block on top representing love. Talk about the traits with your kids as you build. What does each one mean? How does that trait act in real life? Can you think of someone who exhibits that trait? Which is hardest for you to do every day? Which is easiest? Remind kids that with God’s help, they can have all these traits growing in their lives.

1. Lay eight building blocks side by side, sides touching. This is your foundation of faith on which all other qualities stand. By necessity it must be the largest and strongest section to hold all other character traits firm and steady in our lives. How do we get stronger faith? By watching God at work and acknowledging His answers to prayer.
2. Lay seven blocks side by side on top of the faith foundation. This is goodness, or moral excellence. It helps you make good choices, using the Bible as a guide. It needs to be almost as big as your faith foundation, since every day bad choices put a life way off course.
3. Lay six blocks on the row of goodness blocks. This is your knowledge. You gain knowledge and understanding about spiritual matters by reading your Bible, praying, and going to church. Build a relationship with God to increase your knowledge.
4. Lay five blocks on your knowledge row.  This represents self-control. People can’t always do whatever pops into their minds. They have to use self-control or discipline to do the right things at the right times.
5. Lay four blocks on the self-control row. This row is perseverance. Your blocks may be starting to get harder to balance. That’s just like it is in life. These traits are hard to put into practice every day. They may fall over and you have to start building again. That’s where perseverance comes in. You never give up doing the right thing. Keep trying! God will help you!
6. Lay three blocks on the row of perseverance. This is godliness. The Message calls this “reverent wonder” and the Contemporary English Version calls it “devotion to God.” It’s easy to be godly when you’re at church, but more difficult to achieve in everyday life. Look for God in the ordinary. Praise Him for sunsets, laughter, His Word, and your family. Teach your children to call on Him when they hear a siren, have decisions to make, or need help on a test at school.
7. Lay two blocks on the godliness row. This row represents mutual affection or brotherly love. This is love for fellow believers. How can you show love to people you go to church with?
8. Lay the one last block on top of the mutual affection blocks. This is love, especially love for those who are different from you. They may believe differently, come from a different financial status, or a different background or country. They are “the least of these” Jesus talked about in Matthew 25:40. That’s why it’s on the tippy top. It’s hard to carry out. It falls off easily. But when you love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:14). How can you love people who are hard to love? You can’t–not by yourself. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (NIV). Tell God you want to love that difficult person and ask for His help.

My friend, Janice Green, also blogged on 2 Peter 1:5-8, calling it God’s growth chart. You can read it at  http://honeycombadventures.com/2008/03/2-peter-15-8-gods-growth-chart/. She even has a cute growth chart poster you can print out at http://honeycombadventures.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/gods-growth-chart-revised1.doc. 

Have fun building character into your kids’ lives! Pray for God’s help in modeling good character. Praise them when you see them display a good character trait. They’re on their way to being effective and productive citizens.

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