Getting even
Children's sermon
Object:
Band-Aids and antibiotic ointment
Good morning! What if I accidentally fell and scraped my
right hand on the floor? Since I have two hands, would I want to
fall on the other side so that my left hand would equal the
right? (Let them answer.) I don't know of anybody who would do
that! Let's imagine that I was playing with a sharp knife and
accidentally cut my finger. Would I want to cut all my fingers so
that they matched and were even? (Let them answer.) Again, OF
COURSE NOT! That would seem to us to be very foolish, wouldn't
it? I don't know of anyone who would do something like that. If
we hurt ourselves, we certainly wouldn't want to hurt ourselves
some more, would we? (Let them answer.)
What might we do, instead of hurting ourselves more? (Let them answer.) We would want to try to heal our hurts with Band- Aids and antibiotic ointment or whatever medication would help. The last thing we would want to do is make ourselves hurt even more!
So, what happens if someone hurts you? (Don't let them answer.) I know what we all feel like doing. If someone hurts us, we want to "get even." But getting even is also very unwise. Two hurts do not make things better. Hurting someone who hurt me would be like hurting my right hand and then my left so that they might "get even." How foolish that would be!
Jesus offers us a better way, and that is the way of love. It never helps to hurt another -- even if that other person hurt us first. Two hurts never make things better. Usually they just make things worse. If someone calls me a bad name, I might want to call that person a bad name, too. That would be like hurt causing more hurt. That's called "getting even" and that's not the best way. If someone tells lies about me, I may get angry that he or she does that, but it would not help if I said something bad about him or her in return so that I could "get even." I would not want to hurt that person back because causing more hurt is not the way Jesus wants us to act. He showed us how to love -- even those who hurt us. Instead of being a hurt- causer, I'd like to be more like good healing -- like this Band- Aid and ointment.
Dear Jesus: Show us how to stop hurts before they spread. Amen.
What might we do, instead of hurting ourselves more? (Let them answer.) We would want to try to heal our hurts with Band- Aids and antibiotic ointment or whatever medication would help. The last thing we would want to do is make ourselves hurt even more!
So, what happens if someone hurts you? (Don't let them answer.) I know what we all feel like doing. If someone hurts us, we want to "get even." But getting even is also very unwise. Two hurts do not make things better. Hurting someone who hurt me would be like hurting my right hand and then my left so that they might "get even." How foolish that would be!
Jesus offers us a better way, and that is the way of love. It never helps to hurt another -- even if that other person hurt us first. Two hurts never make things better. Usually they just make things worse. If someone calls me a bad name, I might want to call that person a bad name, too. That would be like hurt causing more hurt. That's called "getting even" and that's not the best way. If someone tells lies about me, I may get angry that he or she does that, but it would not help if I said something bad about him or her in return so that I could "get even." I would not want to hurt that person back because causing more hurt is not the way Jesus wants us to act. He showed us how to love -- even those who hurt us. Instead of being a hurt- causer, I'd like to be more like good healing -- like this Band- Aid and ointment.
Dear Jesus: Show us how to stop hurts before they spread. Amen.
