EXTRAordinary Lesson 2
Script
| Time: 5–10 minutes Supplies Two identical clear cups or bowls Small objects that can be sorted in two different ways (color and shape) Two trays Timer Let’s Begin Set the two sorting challenges side by side. Choose two volunteers. Quietly give each child a different job. For example, ask one child to sort her objects by color and the other to sort hers by shape. “Each of you has been given a job. Your job is simple: finish the job you were given. Ready? Go!” Start the timer and let the children work for about 10 seconds. Then interrupt. “WAIT! New rule. You have to keep watching what the girl beside you is doing while you do your own job.” “Watch her! What’s she doing? Is she ahead of you? Did she do something different? Keep checking!” Allow the volunteers to continue for a few moments as they try to complete their own tasks while repeatedly watching each other. Pause. “What happened when you started watching her?” Allow several responses. (Examples might include: I got distracted. I forgot what I was doing. I slowed down. I wanted to do what she was doing. It was harder to finish my own job). “That’s exactly what comparison can do. Each of these girls had a job. Neither job was better. Neither girl needed the other girl’s job. But the second she started watching what someone else was doing, it became harder to pay attention to what SHE had been given to do.” Hold up your Bible. “Galatians 6:4 tells us to pay attention to our own work. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about other people or cheer for them. It just means we don’t have to measure ourselves against them.” Point to the side. “Eyes off hers.” Then point down or toward yourself. “Eyes on yours.” Invite the children to do the motions with you. “Eyes off hers. Eyes on yours.” Repeat it together. “Why can we stop watching hers?” “Because God didn’t forget to give you something good. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s workmanship. He made YOU on purpose and He has good things for YOU to do. Someone else can be good at something without you becoming less. Someone else can have something wonderful without you needing it too. God made each of us differently, and we can thank Him for the way He made us.” Ask What happened when the volunteers stopped focusing on their own jobs and started watching each other? Why can it be hard to notice our own gifts when we’re comparing ourselves to someone else? How can we cheer for someone else’s gifts without wishing they were ours? Wrap Up “You don’t have to keep watching what everyone else is doing. God made you on purpose and gave you your own gifts and good work to do. Eyes off hers. Eyes on yours.” |
“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.”
Galatians 6:4
