(Includes nifty pictoral learning aid for the 10 Commandments. You too can learn them in one short sitting!)
“THE GIFT”
RECOMMENDED BY PURITY PARADIGM.
The more I have read and thought about this story, the more I love it! While it may not be for every family, it redirects and gives context to a word that children in our society are today surrounded by. If your child has asked about the “S word”, please read and consider “The Gift” by my friend Caroline. My prayer is that “The Gift” will help your children and ours to recognise the lies.
Heather McEwan
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This story was written because our son, at age 10, noticed that the “S word” seemed to be in big letters all over the place - and he asked what it was. This story helped him to know why he should be choosy over what he does so his gift isn’t stolen from him, like it was from many who did not know any different.
The story is one for Mum, Dad and child to share but can be used in a group if all parents are aware and are comfortable with it. It is intended for the 9 + age group. Please modify to suit the group or child and pray about it before you use it.
Caroline
Author
A long time ago, God made the world. He made all kinds of things, animals and plants. You can read all about what he made in the book of Genesis, the very first book in the bible.
In Genesis, we read that God made people. He started with one man and one woman. This was the very first marriage. When God started this he gave to the man and the woman a very special gift. Now you’re not getting married tomorrow are you? So now is not the time to be explaining the gift to you… it is a gift meant just for when you are married. So our story is not about what the gift is but it is about what happened to the gift.
One day, a long, long time ago, some people found out about the gift God had for married people and they got very jealous. (Needless to say, these people were not married). In fact they coveted the gift. Do you know what the word covet means? That’s right, it means to want something that is not yours to have. This is one of the commandments isn’t it? We can find them in the book of Exodus.
So, they coveted this gift - and that was the first commandment that they broke. They coveted the gift so much that one day they stole it. Uh Oh!!! Isn't that another commandment broken?
Now, God made us to have a conscience. That means that when we do something wrong we feel bad until we fix up what we have done. We do that by going to God and talking to Him. Sometimes we might need to go to someone else for help to sort out what we should do next. So do you think the people who stole the gift might have felt bad? What do you think they should have done?
Sadly they did not go to God to fix things up. Instead they decided to lie about the gift to all the other people so no one would know what they stole. Who can see how many commandments are broken now?
You know that we can’t lie to God don’t you? He sees straight into our hearts so there is no lying to Him. But people can lie to other people who might try to stop them doing what is wrong. That is, breaking God’s commandments.
And so they told another lie. A great big lie! In order to lie to all the other people, they had to change the name of the gift so no one would realise it was stolen, so the gift was called sex. This is a little strange because this word actually means – “are you a boy or a girl?” If we ask someone what sex their cat is, we mean - is it a boy or a girl?
Now, over a long period of time, a fourth commandment got broken. Which one do you think it was?
It was Commandment Number One. “You shall have no other God before me”. Some people think sex is so important that in their life, it is more important and higher up to them than God.
And this is why you see the words sex and sexy everywhere. In ads for everything!!! From clothes to cars, magazines and music, socks to seafood!
It is a bit like if I gave you a beautiful Lego set, but I took half the pieces out before I gave it to you. You could still play with it but would it be as good? What about if I gave you a mobile phone, but right before I gave it to you, I dropped it in the mud in front of you? Would it seem quite as special after that even if it still worked fine?
So when people talk about sex, they are talking about something God gave us, but in a way that has been coveted, lied about , stolen and elevated wrongly. It is not like the original gift God gave. As you get older you will have to choose. The Original gift is always going to be better than the one that has been trashed.
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Go to: www.LivingWaters.com
Ten Commandments Learning Aid - (Copyright Free - Duplication Encouraged - Artwork donated by Scott Johnson)
to print out full size graphics for your own kids or Sunday School class
