Stealing and lying bring bad consequences

Exodus 20:15-16 and 2 Kings 5:13-27

To help the students understand that stealing and lying are bad, that they’re sins, but that God can forgive them if they repent.

“Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today” (Deuteronomy 27:10, NIV*).

This session explains God’s commands to not steal and not lie. This lesson will provide your students with a new way of thinking about theft. Stealing is much more than taking something that does not belong to you. Stealing hurts both the thief and the victim of the robbery.

In a great way, elementary-aged children want the acceptance and approval of those who have authority over them. They may lie to avoid problems or to displease their parents and teachers.

They need to hear from the people who guide them that stealing and lying not only disappoints them, but disobedience to these rules causes separation from God. They need to know that Jesus does not accept excuses for any sin, even for sins that we can consider small or insignificant. This is a good opportunity to present the children with the truth that God will help us to obey his rules and give us his strength to not sin.

It is amazing how the people around us try to break or break the rules. We all know those attitudes very well. They’re reflected in behaviors such as parking in the assigned place for physically disabled people with the justification that they will only be there for a few minutes. Many times we justify our behavior but condemn that same behavior in others. These attitudes are not something new. In 2 Kings, chapter 5, history tells us that the prophet Elisha healed the military commander Naaman of his leprosy, a disease that terrified people in biblical times, just as HIV&AIDS and Ebola are for many today.

After Elisha refused to accept Naaman’s payment, his servant Gehazi went after the military leader and told him that indeed Elisha would accept the gift anyway. To cover his dishonesty, Gehazi lied when confronted by Elisha about the incident. The result of the sin was that Gehazi and his whole family became lepers. It is a blessing that our rebellions do not bring us the same sufferings that Gehazi had. Perhaps if it did, we would see less deceptions, less theft and less lies in our world. We must remember that when we violate God’s laws, we will suffer serious consequences as a result. Breaking the commandments of not stealing and not lying can end in legal action and even with confinement in prison. They can even bring shame and disgrace on those we love.

Our actions - good or bad - project great shadows. Although we will not conspire to rob a bank or commit perjury in front of a jury, the temptation to break these commandments is very real in our society. Sometimes we feel tempted to tell a little lie so as not to get into trouble, or save extra money when they give us too much in change. When we do not want to spend a weekend with a relative or acquaintance, it would seem that saying a “white lie” is something of no importance. But as followers of Jesus, we can never excuse our actions assuming there are small exceptions. God calls us to live on a higher level. The world can ignore the Ten Commandments and choose lifestyles that do not please God; but as Christians, we have been called to live differently. When he gave the Ten Commandments to his people, he was saying: “the rest of the world can live according to their own rules, but, you, my chosen people, must live in this way.” When we say that we live in communion with God, our choices are grounded in his Word, including the Ten Commandments.

As you prepare to teach your children this week, keep in mind that you will make a positive or negative impact. If we fail in our goal of obeying God, the consequences will not be as severe as being punished with leprosy as happened to Gehazi. But, Jesus made it clear in Luke 17:12 that he does not take it lightly if we cause others to sin. As he says in v. 3: “So watch yourselves!”

Keep in mind that others are looking at you and especially children need to see consistent obedience to the Word of God in those who guide and teach them.

The puppet and the thief

Before the session, get or make a puppet to use in this activity. For example: you can make it yourself with a stocking or sock. Put the sock on your hand and draw or put on eyes (they can be buttons), make a smile (lips of fabric of another color glued on). You can make eyebrows and hair with yarn. Add a triangle-shaped nose. You can also do it with a medium-sized paper bag. Give it a name. Say a dialogue like the following about Jaime having his money stolen.

Teacher: “Hello everyone. This is my friend Jaime. Jaime, can you tell us what happened to you this week?”

Jaime: “Something terrible happened to me! I cannot believe it! Mom gave me some spending money. I set aside an amount for my offerings and put the rest in my wallet. I wanted to buy a special toy for which I have been saving for two months!”

Teacher: “That does not seem so terrible! But what happened?”

Jaime: “I took my wallet to school because when school was over, I was going to buy a toy. During recess, I left my wallet on my desk. When I came back after recess and opened it, some of my money was gone. Can you believe it? The money I had saved and saved ... had disappeared. I could not buy my toy anymore. I did not have enough money. I almost started crying there at school!”

Teacher: “That’s terrible, Jaime! Someone stole some money from your wallet. And you saved it for months. That really hurts.”

Jaime: “That hurt a lot, and the worst thing is that I do not know if I can trust anyone anymore. I do not think I can believe in my classmates. What if it is one of my friends who took my money? It could be anyone!”

Teacher: “That’s true. But, there is one thing you can do. You can pray that God will help you forgive that person and that you can trust your friends once again. God will help you.” Jaime: “Can you pray with me?” Teacher: “Yes, Jaime, of course!” Say: Stealing and lying hurt God and others. How did the theft hurt Jaime? (He lost his money and also his trust in friends - he could not buy his toy, for which he had saved for so much time.)

Direct the children’s attention to the Ten Commandments poster. Ask a child to read Commandment #7. Ask: “Do you think God’s rule is good? Why or why not?”

Naaman was an important man who worked for the king. He lived far from Israel, and had an Israelite servant who worked for him and knew the true God. Naaman got very sick with a horrible disease that affected his skin and caused sores all over his body. It was called leprosy. Naaman had treatments but none had helped him. It was getting worse!

One day, the servant spoke to Naaman’s wife and said, “Elisha, the prophet of God, can help your husband. He is in Israel. He should go see him!” Naaman went to Israel and visited Elisha. The prophet knew what the general should do to be healed by God. Naaman did what the prophet told him and his leprosy disappeared. His skin was like new, all the sores were gone! He was so happy!

“Thank you, thank you,” he said to Elisha. “Now I know that there is no God in the whole world like the God of Israel. Please accept these gifts in appreciation.” “No,” Elisha answered. “God healed you, I did not. I will not accept it!” “Go in peace,” Elisha said to Naaman.

Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had been listening. “I cannot believe that Elisha did not accept anything from this Syrian Naaman! He had beautiful clothes and gifts of silver. Elisha should have accepted something!” he thought. The servant continued thinking. Finally he decided what he would do. “I will run after Naaman and ask him for a gift and keep it for myself.”

Gehazi began to run. In the distance, Naaman saw him approaching and turned to find Elisha’s servant. Naaman asked, “Is everything all right? “Yes, everything is fine,” said Gehazi. “But Elisha has a message for you. There are two young people who need your help and he wants you to give me the silver gifts and the robes.” “Very well!” said Naaman. “I will give you the gifts for Elisha.”

Gehazi departed from Naaman with the gifts. He pretended nothing had happened. “Where were you, Gehazi?” Elisha asked him. “What do you mean?” he replied. “I did not go anywhere.” Elisha shook his head sadly and said, “I know what you did, Gehazi! You lied and you stole. You also sinned against God. You broke his commandments.” Gehazi ducked his head, shamefaced. Elisha had discovered what he had done. “Now you will be punished for your sin! Elisha said. “You and your children will have leprosy, in the same way that Naaman had before he was healed.” And so it happened. Gehazi had to learn very sadly what it means to break God’s commandments.

“What did you hear?” Review

Take a moment to review the story. All the children will sit in a circle. You will begin by asking a question to the first child to your left. They will answer the question, and then will ask the person to their left, “What did you hear?” (In relation to the biblical story). And each child continues the story around the circle. You will say: “I heard that there was an important man, that he was a military man.” Then ask: “What did you hear about it, Elisa?” Elisa will say: “His name was Naaman.”

Then, Elisa will ask: “What did you hear, Mark?” Mark will say: “Naaman had a servant.”

And in that way, they will continue to tell the Bible story. If any part is missing, you will ask: “Was something missing?” Let whoever knows what is missing include it in the story. Go back to the place where the story was and ask: “What did you hear?” And continue the story.

End with questions that may be general or repetitions of the story.