Proverbs 10:1b - A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
This week's fool was the rebel. A rebel is defined as thickheaded, dull-witted, slow to change his ways, strong-willed, someone who disregards morals, rejects instruction, and is quick-tempered. Ouch! I don't know about you, but I could apply a few of those descriptions to me at times!
We started by acting out a little rebellion for the kids. I had a peanut butter sandwich and, while the kids shared what they've been up to this last week, I tried to put my peanut butter sandwich into a snack-size baggie. John realized what I was trying to do and offered me a sandwich-size baggie, but I refused, telling him my way was best and that I knew what I was doing and didn't need any help from him. I got my sandwich in the baggie, but ended up with it squished and not very appetizing. Pulling the sandwich back out of the small baggie, we asked the kids if they would want to get a sandwich like this in their lunch. What's wrong with it? Why is the sandwich like this?
We told the kids that the person who squeezed the sandwich into the small baggie was acting like another kind of fool the Bible talks about. We asked the kids in what ways I acted foolishly. I didn't listen to advice. I was stubborn and insisted on doing things my way. I didn't learn from my mistakes and kept repeating foolish acts over and over. In short, I was acting like a rebel.
We talked about Hophni and Phinehas then, the two priests in 1 Samuel. To show how they rebelled, I held a bowl of fruit. I gave one of the youth a fork and told her to poke her fork into the bowl and that she could have only the fruit that came up on the fork. Afterwards, we asked the kids if instead of following my directions, Cailin took the bowl, looked into it and picked out all of the big pieces with her hands, would she be a rebel. Absolutely! As were Hophni and Phinehas. God's rule in the Old Testament was that the priests could poke a fork into a pot of boiling meat from the offerings and, whatever came up on the fork, they were allowed to eat. Then we read 1 Samuel 2:12-17 and 22-26 to see what really happened.
Instead of following the rules, Hophni and Phinehas decided to do things their own way. They took the best pieces of raw meat before it was boiled. They didn't respect the offerings people were making to God. In the end, their father Eli warned them about the consequences of their evil behavior, but they refused to listen to their dad and kept right on rebelling. The prophet Samuel told Eli both his sons would die on the same day as punishment for their rebellious ways. And they did! They both died on the same day in a battle against the Philistines.
Proverbs 3:1-2 says, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity." What does this verse tell us NOT to do? What does it tell us TO DO? That wisdom must be in our hearts, not just our heads! Hophni and Phinehas didn't follow the wise advice of their father and died as a result of their foolishness.
Next we looked at King David's son Absalom. He was also stubborn and rebellious. He didn't honor his father or listen to his wise advice. He killed his brother and tried to take his father's throne as King. He gathered men to rebel against his father, but in a battle against his father's men, Absalom's long and thick hair got caught in a tree. He dangled there while one of his father's soldiers pierced him through the heart with three spears! David loved his son and grieved for him because Proverbs 17:21 tells us that to have a fool for a son brings grief and there is no joy for the father of a fool.
The Bible is FULL of examples of rebels! So we asked the kids then if they could think of a Son in the Bible who did not bring grief to His Father...a Son who listened and obeyed, loved wisdom and what is right, and didn't insist on His own way, but followed the way of His Father, even when it was hard.
Matthew 3:17 - And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased."
Jesus brought much joy to His Father because He was wise. He loved what is right and obeyed His Father...and again, even when it was hard!
Nothing we could ever go through in this life could compare to the unimaginable suffering Christ went through leading up to and during his crucifixion. And still, He obeyed and did not rebel! How much more should we be able to obey our Father as well?!
I ended by showing the kids a picture of a passion plant. It's a vine I actually have growing in my garden. I like it because of how beautiful the flowers are when they bloom and what they represent. Legend has it that the passion flower symbolizes Christ's passion. The 10 flower petals of each bloom represent the 10 most faithful of Christ's 12 disciples. The lacey fringe above the flower petals represents the crown of thorns, the 5 flower anthers represent Christ's 5 wounds, and the 3 flower stigmas represent the 3 nails that held Christ to the cross. (Really, I love it because it is self-sustaining and I can ignore it and it will still grow and flourish! My kind of plant!)
Though it's a beautiful flower, it's also a very rebellious plant. You see, it has these tiny tendrils growing out from all over its vines. Those tendrils attach themselves to everything and seem to have a mind of their own as to where they want to grow from there. I put a trellis up for them, but they stubbornly attach themselves to other plants, our tree, the watering can, the hose, you name it! It's so frustrating. I keep redirecting them and they just keep right on attaching themselves to and growing where they please.
Eventually, I have to cut the vines back because they begin to wander and creep into my neighbor's yard and take over their things as well. We are so like this plant sometimes...even as believers. We have a mind of our own, want to do things our way, don't want to take the advice of others, attach ourselves to things of this world...even when the things of God provide life for us. Eventually, our rebellion results in our being disconnected from God...cut off.
What does our rebellion look like? How does it grow in the heart and begin to attach itself to other parts of our lives and spread? What about stubbornness? What can we do about rebellion and stubbornness? We asked the youth, do you listen when your parents give you good teaching? Does rebellion rise in your heart, or are you happy to receive their instruction? Do you wander off in other directions seeking worldly "wisdom" to attach yourself to? How can you grow in this area? Do you want to bring joy or grief to your parents? Do you want to bring joy or grief to your heavenly Father?
