As students join your classroom, have them form groups of three or four. Have students prepare skits related to obeying their parents or guardians. Assign one group to perform a skit where students obey and things work out and have the other groups perform skits that include disobedience that ends poorly for the young person involved. (If your class is meeting online, you can use the breakout room feature of your video chat software. Rather than performing, each group can instead share the story or scenario they discussed).
- Why is it important to obey our parents or guardians? (Answers may include: They keep us safe; they’ve lived longer than us and have more life experiences to share; they love us; they are responsible for us, etc.)
- Why is it so difficult to obey our parents or guardians? (Answers may include: They don’t know what things are like today for people our age; they lecture too much; they don’t want us to do anything; they want what is easier and sometimes say “no” without reason, etc.)
We’re going to play a game of, “To Obey or Not Obey?” I will read several scenarios out loud. If you would obey, raise your right hand. If you wouldn’t obey, raise your left hand. After you read each of the following scenarios below, ask “Obey or not obey?” Allow students several seconds to choose their answer before explaining why something should or should not be obeyed.
- Your grandfather tells you to lie to your parents about something he said to you. You know your parents will be upset about what he said. (Don’t obey. God’s people are called to be truthful, even when it’s hard.)
- Your mom asks you to do the dishes after dinner—but it’s your brother’s chore! (Obey. Even though this seems unfair, doing the dishes is a way to obey and honor parents.)
- Your stepmom is running late one morning, making you late for school. She tells you to lie to your teacher and say you had car trouble so your tardiness will be excused. (Don’t obey. God’s people are called to be truthful, even when it’s hard.)
- Your dad told you to come home straight after school, but your friend approaches you after class. She just found out she failed a class, and she wants to talk with you. (Obey. Offer a different time to your friend when you will be available to talk or text.)
- Your grandmother picks you up from soccer practice and tells you that your stepdad asked you to mow the lawn before you do your homework that night. You are feeling really tired from practice. (Obey. God calls us to obey our parents even when we are tired.)
As time allows, you can create and share your own scenarios for students to guess.
Unless something is harmful or unbiblical—as we saw in some of these examples—we’re called to obey our parents. It isn’t always easy. We may think we know what is best for us or we may think it wouldn’t be a big deal to lie or sneak. As this story shows us—and stories of disobedience that end much worse—rules are often set for our protection. Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about obeying our parents and why it is important!
