Lesson eight – doing right; the Bible
CHARACTERS:
CHRISTIAN
STRICT CHRISTIAN AND
NON CHRISTIAN
Christian: Tell me what to do, I want to follow the bible but I also want to keep my friends.
Strict Christian: The bible says that to be gay is wrong! The bible is a book from God, what the bible says is what God says, you should listen to the bible. What you’re friend is doing is wrong.
Non Christian: Ignore him. So it says in the bible that it is wrong. Do you always listen to the bible? Can’t you think for yourself? He’s your friend. You being friends with him isn’t wrong even if he is gay.
Christian: The bible says it is wrong, you should not continue to be friends with him!
Non Christian: The bible was written a long, long time ago. Things have changed since then. It’s up do you but I suggest you do what you want to do. Think for yourself and don’t take orders from a book!
Christian: Thanks guys. You know what, his friendship means a lot to me and I don’t want to lose that. The bible says to be gay is wrong but it doesn’t say to be friends with someone who is gay is wrong. I know what I want to do.
Lesson nine – doing right; the example of Jesus
An event in the life of Jesus which might set an example to other Christians is when Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and 40 nights. Then when the devil tried to tempt him he still didn’t give it. This teaches other Christians not to give into temptation and always do what you think is right.
Another event is when Jesus was on the cross. He still made time to talk to people and he asked God to forgive everyone – even those who were against him and hung him on the cross. Jesus forgave sins. This teaches other Christians that if Jesus could forgive then so can they. Jesus was willing to forgive even his most hated enemies so if he can forgive those who killed him then Christians should also forgive people who do bad things to them.
The final event I am going to mention is when Jesus came across a crowd of very hungry people. Jesus took the time to stop and feed them. This teaches other Christians to put others before themselves, to stop and help others and to help others who are less fortunate than themselves.
There are a few people in the world who are most like my impression of Jesus.
The one’s I am going to mention are: police, nurses + doctors, Lenny Henry, teachers and one of my best friends Laura.
- To me police are like Jesus because they go out everyday to protect other members of the public. They risk their lives to save others and they always do their best to help. They put the public before themselves and risk everything for the chance to help put away bad people.
- To me doctors and nurses are like Jesus because they put others before themselves. They help make people who are ill better. They also give up their time to speak to people. The nurses (especially on the children’s wards) give up their time to talk to the children, cheer them up and make them feel better. They look after people who are ill and talk to them, try to make them feel better and look after them and put others needs before their own.
- Lenny Henry is sort of like Jesus to me because of everything he has done for children in need. He set it up years ago and is always involved raising money for, not only people here in the UK but for people in Africa as well. There are lots of others involved as well but Lenny set it up and has been involved every year. He gave up his time to help people less fortunate and a lot worse of than himself.
- Teachers, to me, are sort of like Jesus as they are always there for the students. They often give up their free time to help students and are always there to talk to. If you have any problems then you talk to them and they help you to sort them out. They help you as much as they can and always put the students and the students needs before their own.
- The last person is one of my best friends Laura Beeson. She is like Jesus to me because she always puts others before herself. She is always there to talk to and always does her best to help you if you have a problem. She is very forgiving and is always trying to help someone in some way. She once told me that she would rather help one of her friends who was in trouble before she even tried to start helping herself. She always has time for you and always does her best to help. She came with me when I had to see a teacher once because she knows how shy I am. She came for moral support. Nothing is ever too much trouble and if she can’t help then she finds someone who can. She looks after you before she looks after herself!
If Jesus lived next door then yes, I think I would like him. He’s kind and forgiving. He puts others before himself and he always does his best to help. He would always have time for others and would always help where he can and I think I would be proud to know a man like that!
If you go through life always asking yourself ‘what would Jesus do?’ then you would never be able to think for yourself. You could never make your own choices and make your own mistakes to learn from. Everyone needs to make mistakes because that’s how you learn. To do what Jesus would do in some situations is good but in some situations you need to be able to think for yourself and make your own choices – it’s all part of life and of growing up. We need to do things for ourselves and not just because it’s what Jesus would have done!
Questions
Me:
If I saw an old lady drop her purse in the street then I would catch her up and give it to her.
If my mate left a party early and her boyfriend asked me for a kiss then I would say no but I would probably wish I had said yes, however, I would also ring my mate and tell her what he had done. She has a right to know.
If I was in an empty classroom and the mock exam question paper was on the table then I would be tempted to look but I would probably leave the room quickly so as I didn’t give in.
If I saw a student taking money from a teacher’s purse then I would be too shy to tell them to put it back so I would probably tell the teacher who it was as soon as possible.
A Christian:
If they saw an old lady drop her purse then I think they would catch her up and give it to her.
If they were asked for a kiss by their friend’s boy/girlfriend then I think they would say no and ring their friend straight away.
If they saw the mock exam question paper on the table in an empty classroom then I think they would leave the room quickly.
If they witnessed a student taking money from a teacher’s purse then they would tell the student to put it back. If that didn’t work then I think they would go straight to a teacher.
I think I’m a mixture between good and bad. I can be very bad – particularly when around my sister and I am always getting in trouble but I can be very good as well. I make mistakes, who doesn’t but I try and learn from my mistakes. I always try and help when I can. I am always there if someone needs to talk and I try to help whenever possible. I love to help out at things like open evening(which I love to do) and I help teachers whenever I can. I always do my best but sometimes that’s not quite good enough. I am good but there are times when I can be very bad indeed!!!
A Christian might say that to avoid punishment is a good reason for being good because
If you are being punished then that means you have done something wrong and maybe even illegal and to do that is like betraying God.
A Christian might say that gaining a reward is a good reason for being good because
Being rewarded is being told that what you did is very good and it is like a reward from God and if you carry on the way you are then you will end up in heaven.
A Christian might say that being at peace with our self is a good reason for being good because when you are at peace with yourself then you are more relaxed and more at peace with God and it makes it easier to respond to him.
A Christian might say that fitting in with society is a good reason for being good because
It’s good to make friends and friends are important. Most Christians prefer to get on with everybody rather than argue all the time and use violence. ‘Love your neighbours as yourself!’
A Christian might say that pleasing God is a good reason for being good because God decides if you go to heaven or hell so if you please him and are good all the time then you will end up going to heaven.
