Anger
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
A small cardboard box partially filled with foreign coins.
After the children gather, I shake the small cardboard box I have brought. The distinctive noise that results cannot be mistaken. "What do you suppose I have in this box?" I ask the children.
"Money!" they answer with an air of excited anticipation.
"Yes, the box contains money," I agree. Then I open it and take out a quarter-sized coin made from copper. I hold it up for everyone to see and ask, "Is this a penny?"
"No," the children respond.
"But it's the same color as a penny," I protest. "Are you sure it's not a penny?"
"It's too big to be a penny," one child says.
"You're right," I tell him. "Perhaps it's a dime. It's got this big number 10 on one side." Again I hold it up for the children, then have them pass it around for a closer look as we continue.
"No, it's too big to be a dime," a girl declares.
"And it's the wrong color," another adds.
"Well, gee," I answer, "do you suppose it's not an American coin at all? Could it be from another country?"
The children agree that it must be since it is not currency any of them recognize.
"Actually," I proceed, "all of the coins in this box are from Hong Kong. It's definitely foreign money. Now, suppose I needed some money to pay my United States income tax. Could I use this money from Hong Kong to do that?"
"No," the children tell me. "You'd have to use American money."
"But what if this was the only money I had?" I probe further. "What could I do then?"
The children think a moment. Then one of them offers, "You might get someone to give you American money for your foreign money."
"That's a good idea!" I respond. "I might trade this money for the same value in U.S. coins.
"The reason I brought foreign money today is because of the story about Jesus' visit to the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Jewish Passover. All Jewish men over a certain age had to pay a Temple tax. And just as I would need American money to pay my U.S. income tax, they had to have Jewish money to pay the Temple tax. So, if they came for Passover with foreign money (Greek, or Roman, or Persian, or whatever), they had to exchange it.
"That's why there were people called money-changers in the Temple. They earned their living by exchanging foreign money for Jewish money so people could pay their Temple tax.
"Suppose for a moment that you were money-changers and I came to you with a foreign coin that was worth one dollar. If you only gave me back 95 cents and kept a nickel for yourselves, that would probably be all right with me because I knew you were doing me a favor to exchange my money at all. But, what if you kept more than that? What if you kept 25 cents and only gave me back 75 cents?"
"That wouldn't be fair," several children respond.
"No, it wouldn't be fair," I agree. "I would be charging you more than my services were worth. And that's what happened to the folks who came to the Temple to exchange their money. The money-changers charged them a lot more than was fair. When Jesus saw what was going on, what happened?"
"He got angry and turned over the tables and scattered money all over the place," a boy answers.
"Yes," I reply, "Jesus got angry. And it wasn't just the business with the money-changers that angered him. Back in that time, the Jews practiced animal sacrifice, and the animals used for this had to be absolutely perfect.
"Animals were for sale both inside and outside the Temple. Inside, a pair of doves might cost as much as twenty times what they would cost outside. The problem was that if a person purchased a sacrificial animal outside the Temple, the persons who inspected the animals to be sure they were perfect would almost always find something wrong. Then the person who had bought animals outside would have no choice but to buy more animals inside the Temple -- at a much higher price."
"But that wasn't FAIR!" another boy exclaims.
"No, it wasn't fair. And what the money-changers were doing wasn't fair either. That's why Jesus was so angry.
"We don't usually think of anger when we think of Jesus. But sometimes, even he got angry. That day in Jerusalem, he shouted at the people in the Temple, 'This is a house of prayer, and you have turned it into a den of thieves!' He was angry because the people who came to worship were being taken advantage of; he was angry because what the money-changers and animal inspectors were doing was dishonest and unfair.
"Sometimes it is okay to be angry. Sometimes it's even important to be angry. When something is truly wrong and we are moved to action by anger, then anger becomes a good thing. It was Jesus' love for justice and rightness that moved him to anger; it was his compassion and love for the worshipers who were being treated unfairly that caused him to make a whip and drive everyone out.
"All of us get angry at times. Sometimes our anger is good; sometimes it isn't. The only way to tell is to understand the source of our anger. If we are angry just because something didn't go the way we wanted it to or just because we were asked to clean up our room before we went to play, or something like that, then it's something we need to let go of. But if our anger is because someone is being treated unfairly, if it is anger against hatred, or mistreatment, or meanness, then our anger is a good thing. Then it is like the anger Jesus unleashed when he cleared the Temple."
"Money!" they answer with an air of excited anticipation.
"Yes, the box contains money," I agree. Then I open it and take out a quarter-sized coin made from copper. I hold it up for everyone to see and ask, "Is this a penny?"
"No," the children respond.
"But it's the same color as a penny," I protest. "Are you sure it's not a penny?"
"It's too big to be a penny," one child says.
"You're right," I tell him. "Perhaps it's a dime. It's got this big number 10 on one side." Again I hold it up for the children, then have them pass it around for a closer look as we continue.
"No, it's too big to be a dime," a girl declares.
"And it's the wrong color," another adds.
"Well, gee," I answer, "do you suppose it's not an American coin at all? Could it be from another country?"
The children agree that it must be since it is not currency any of them recognize.
"Actually," I proceed, "all of the coins in this box are from Hong Kong. It's definitely foreign money. Now, suppose I needed some money to pay my United States income tax. Could I use this money from Hong Kong to do that?"
"No," the children tell me. "You'd have to use American money."
"But what if this was the only money I had?" I probe further. "What could I do then?"
The children think a moment. Then one of them offers, "You might get someone to give you American money for your foreign money."
"That's a good idea!" I respond. "I might trade this money for the same value in U.S. coins.
"The reason I brought foreign money today is because of the story about Jesus' visit to the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Jewish Passover. All Jewish men over a certain age had to pay a Temple tax. And just as I would need American money to pay my U.S. income tax, they had to have Jewish money to pay the Temple tax. So, if they came for Passover with foreign money (Greek, or Roman, or Persian, or whatever), they had to exchange it.
"That's why there were people called money-changers in the Temple. They earned their living by exchanging foreign money for Jewish money so people could pay their Temple tax.
"Suppose for a moment that you were money-changers and I came to you with a foreign coin that was worth one dollar. If you only gave me back 95 cents and kept a nickel for yourselves, that would probably be all right with me because I knew you were doing me a favor to exchange my money at all. But, what if you kept more than that? What if you kept 25 cents and only gave me back 75 cents?"
"That wouldn't be fair," several children respond.
"No, it wouldn't be fair," I agree. "I would be charging you more than my services were worth. And that's what happened to the folks who came to the Temple to exchange their money. The money-changers charged them a lot more than was fair. When Jesus saw what was going on, what happened?"
"He got angry and turned over the tables and scattered money all over the place," a boy answers.
"Yes," I reply, "Jesus got angry. And it wasn't just the business with the money-changers that angered him. Back in that time, the Jews practiced animal sacrifice, and the animals used for this had to be absolutely perfect.
"Animals were for sale both inside and outside the Temple. Inside, a pair of doves might cost as much as twenty times what they would cost outside. The problem was that if a person purchased a sacrificial animal outside the Temple, the persons who inspected the animals to be sure they were perfect would almost always find something wrong. Then the person who had bought animals outside would have no choice but to buy more animals inside the Temple -- at a much higher price."
"But that wasn't FAIR!" another boy exclaims.
"No, it wasn't fair. And what the money-changers were doing wasn't fair either. That's why Jesus was so angry.
"We don't usually think of anger when we think of Jesus. But sometimes, even he got angry. That day in Jerusalem, he shouted at the people in the Temple, 'This is a house of prayer, and you have turned it into a den of thieves!' He was angry because the people who came to worship were being taken advantage of; he was angry because what the money-changers and animal inspectors were doing was dishonest and unfair.
"Sometimes it is okay to be angry. Sometimes it's even important to be angry. When something is truly wrong and we are moved to action by anger, then anger becomes a good thing. It was Jesus' love for justice and rightness that moved him to anger; it was his compassion and love for the worshipers who were being treated unfairly that caused him to make a whip and drive everyone out.
"All of us get angry at times. Sometimes our anger is good; sometimes it isn't. The only way to tell is to understand the source of our anger. If we are angry just because something didn't go the way we wanted it to or just because we were asked to clean up our room before we went to play, or something like that, then it's something we need to let go of. But if our anger is because someone is being treated unfairly, if it is anger against hatred, or mistreatment, or meanness, then our anger is a good thing. Then it is like the anger Jesus unleashed when he cleared the Temple."
