Why does God want us to be honest in HEART, MIND, and WORD?
Proverbs 12:17
“He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.”
LESSON LIFESAVER Activity
Honesty Pays! Blessing-Bucks GAME
OBJECTIVE: To help the youth have a desire, to be honest, and have integrity.
TO MAKE: Print and cut out the Honesty Pays! Blessing-Bucks game for each
youth, or just one set to play with family. Note: You’ll need four copies of
the Blessing Bucks (money). Place “Move” pieces in an envelope.
ACTIVITY: Honesty Pays! Blessing-Bucks game
Help youth learn the difference between good promises and bad promises. Even though they may be honest about keeping their promises, some promises are good and some are bad. Blessings come from keeping good promises.
PLAY GAME* Tell the youth that the word “bucks” in the GAME means money (in paper bills), which is a temporal reward, but Blessing Bucks are spiritual rewards that come from making and keeping good promises. Honesty pays because we feel good about the promises we make and because others trust us.
*GAME RULES
• Divide children/youth into two teams, using buttons or coins for markers at the START position.
• Take turns drawing a “Move” word strip and moving the indicated number of spaces on the board (found on the word strip).
• Read the promise and decide if it is a good promise or a bad promise. If it is a bad promise, tell what the consequence is for making that bad promise. If it is a good promise, tell what the consequence is for following through on a good promise and collect a BLESSING BUCK.
• When someone reaches “STOP,” add up the BLESSING BUCKS to determine the winner!
THOUGHT TREAT Honest Heart Candies. Tell the youth that honesty comes from the heart.
DISCUSSION POINTS (Scriptures, Jesus Christ, Honesty)
• There are many in the world today who do not care about wrong or right. Followers of Jesus care about being honest in all we do. Honesty is a moral compass to guide us. Honesty is more than not lying. It is speaking truth and living truth.
• When we cheat in school, we cheat ourselves. It makes it hard for those who do not cheat.
• We all have moral agency and can decide the choices we will make. We are accountable for our choices. We may deceive others but there is One we cannot deceive.
• Lying, cheating, and stealing, are never worthy of those who follow Jesus.
Story on Honesty:
A junior high school coach told the story of a 14-year-old boy named Bobby Polacio who practiced for three years to compete to change the school record of climbing a 15-foot rope to hit the board and then back down. It was time for the race and to change the 2.1 seconds all-time high. Bobby raced to the top and back down and the coach asked him if he hit the board. Bobby, who would have broken the school record if he said, “Yes” shook his head negatively even though his school was cheering him on. His coach experienced a moment of greatness in this skinny seventh-grader. On his last try, Bobby was instructed to jump a few inches higher on takeoff. Fifty boys and one coach watched breathlessly and watched him achieve to record-breaking 1.9 seconds! Source: Honesty-a Moral Compass
An American Religious Leader, Gordon B. Hinckley said of this story, “All of us can climb high when we honor every form of truth.”
Story of Joseph – Trusted in Egypt:
Joseph, the son of Jacob, was a model of integrity, placing him among the greatest of God’s sons. Because he could be trusted he became the overseer of the house of Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh’s guard, and later in charge of the Pharaoh’s granaries saving the land from starvation as he interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream of 7 years of feasts then 7 of famine. He saved his family from hunger. (Genesis 37, 39-46) His life is evidence that “all things work together for good to [those who] love God.” (Romans 8:28)
BIBLE SCRIPTURES TO UNDERLINE:
Job 27:5
“Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.”
Romans 8:28
“All things work together for good to those who love God.”
James 4:17
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Proverbs 12:17
“He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.”