Youth Educational Adventures

Name:

Daily Devotionals

YE4M

BIB

LE

Lesson 5: Dare to BeLesson 5: Dare to BeLesson 5: Dare to BeLesson 5: Dare to BeLesson 5: Dare to BeTruthfulTruthfulTruthfulTruthfulTruthfulSunday: Proverbs 12:19Monday: Jeremiah 5:3Tuesday: John 17:17Wednesday: Psalm 86:15Thursday Psalm 51:6Friday: Psalm 33:4Saturday: Daniel 4:37

Lesson 6: WhoLesson 6: WhoLesson 6: WhoLesson 6: WhoLesson 6: Who’’’’’s In Charge?s In Charge?s In Charge?s In Charge?s In Charge?Sunday: Proverbs 2:11-15Monday: Proverbs 2:20-22Tuesday: Proverbs 4:14-16Wednesday: Exodus 23:2Thursday: Joshua 24:15-18Friday: Proverbs 22:24, 25Saturday - Matthew 25:14-30

Lesson 7: Courage CountsLesson 7: Courage CountsLesson 7: Courage CountsLesson 7: Courage CountsLesson 7: Courage CountsSunday: Hebrews 13:5, 6Monday: 2 Timothy 1:7Tuesday: Ephesians 6:10Wednesday: Joshua 1:9Thursday: Proverbs 14:26Friday: Matthew 10:29-31Saturday: Acts 28:15

Lesson 8: Ditch the DoubleLesson 8: Ditch the DoubleLesson 8: Ditch the DoubleLesson 8: Ditch the DoubleLesson 8: Ditch the DoubleStandardStandardStandardStandardStandardSunday: Isaiah 59:4-15Monday: Proverbs 6:16-19Tuesday: Psalm 15: 1, 2Wednesday: Isaiah 59:4-15Thursday: Proverbs 16:4Friday: Ephesians 4:25Saturday: Psalm 15: 1, 2

Lesson 9: Path to GreatnessLesson 9: Path to GreatnessLesson 9: Path to GreatnessLesson 9: Path to GreatnessLesson 9: Path to GreatnessSunday: Proverbs 16:18, 19Monday: Proverbs 29:23Tuesday: Matthew 18:1-5Wednesday: 1 Peter 5:5, 6Thursday: Genesis 41:14-16Friday: Proverbs 29:23Saturday: Proverbs 16:18, 19

Lesson 10: WorryLesson 10: WorryLesson 10: WorryLesson 10: WorryLesson 10: Worry—————a Time Wastera Time Wastera Time Wastera Time Wastera Time WasterSunday: Philippians 4:6-7Monday: Proverbs 1:32, 33Tuesday: Isaiah 26:1-3Wednesday: Matthew 6:25-34Thursday: Romans 8:28Friday: James 2:1-26Saturday: Luke 12:27

Youth

Educational

Adventures

Lessons for Sabbath School and HomeUnit 4 “Wisdom”

Book OneIntermediates

Youth Educational Adventures

The Way ofWisdom SeriesBook OneIntermediates

The purpose of this series of lessons it to supplyIntermediates with the biblical tools to understandthat God set laws in motion to make life work. Heimparts wisdom to those who seek for it through thestudy of His Word. We hope to instill an awe andrespect for God and His Word that will inspire teensto apply the knowledge they gain to every aspect oftheir lives. We also want to develop in teens a lovefor learning about God which will bring them againand again to church and to Sabbath School.

We hope to encourage daily contact with Godthrough prayer and devotional Bible readings. In theprocess, we also hope to create in each teen anexpectation of fully participating as a baptizedmember in God’s church. We also pray that thelessons in this book will translate into knowledge andbehavior becoming of a child of God.

Ronald Dart – Publications Editor

Allie Dart – Managing Editor

PAM Dewey - contributing Writer

Mickie Ranaldo – Layout and Design

Our vision is to create Christian educational opportunities for all our children so that they will

build a lasting relationship with God andexperience the joys of salvation and the rewards

of God’s Kingdom.

Christian Educational MinistriesP. O. Box 560

Whitehouse, Texas 75791phone: 1.888.BIBLE.44

fax: 903.509.1139www.borntowin.net

Copyright 2007 Christian Educational MinistriesAll Rights Reserved

35

Daily DevotionalsWelcome to perhaps the most valuable adventure you’ve tackled thus far—wisdom. King David taught his son Solomon the importance of getting wisdom.“He taught me and said, ‘Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep mycommands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget mywords or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you,love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wis-dom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding’” (Proverbs 3:4-7 NIV).King Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. You can share in that wisdom byreading your devotional Bible readings each day. The Bible is the source of truewisdom. A daily study of God’s Word can make you wiser than your enemies.Each day’s readings are selected to go with your Sabbath School lesson for thatweek. So take just a few minutes each day and read these verses from yourBible. Pray about them and ask God to give you wisdom and understanding.

Lesson 1: Want to Be A WiseLesson 1: Want to Be A WiseLesson 1: Want to Be A WiseLesson 1: Want to Be A WiseLesson 1: Want to Be A WiseGuy?Guy?Guy?Guy?Guy?Sunday: Proverbs 1:1-6Monday: Proverbs 2:11-15Tuesday: Proverbs 4:6-9Wednesday: Ecclesiastes 2:26Thursday: John 16:13-15Friday: Proverbs 25:8-14Saturday: Proverbs 2:6 7

Lesson 2: No Fooling!Lesson 2: No Fooling!Lesson 2: No Fooling!Lesson 2: No Fooling!Lesson 2: No Fooling!Sunday: Proverbs 3:11,12Monday: Proverbs 12:1-15Tuesday: Proverbs 15:5-22Wednesday: Proverbs 19:20Thursday: Proverbs 15:31, 32Friday: Ecclesiastes 10:12-15Saturday - Proverbs 4:6-8

Lesson 3: Taming the Tongue!Lesson 3: Taming the Tongue!Lesson 3: Taming the Tongue!Lesson 3: Taming the Tongue!Lesson 3: Taming the Tongue!Sunday: James 3:7-10Monday: Proverbs 15:1Tuesday: Proverbs 17:27Wednesday: Ecclesiastes 3:7Thursday: 1 Timothy 4:12Friday: Proverbs 4:24Saturday: Proverbs 34:13

Lesson 4: Control YourLesson 4: Control YourLesson 4: Control YourLesson 4: Control YourLesson 4: Control YourTemperTemperTemperTemperTemperSunday: Psalm 37:8Monday: Psalm 76:10Tuesday: Proverbs 12:16Wednesday: Proverbs 14:17Thursday: Proverbs 15:1Friday: Proverbs 15:32Saturday: Proverbs 19:11

Lesson 1Want to Be a Wise Guy?.............. 4

Lesson 2No Fooling! ................................. 7

Lesson 3Taming the Tongue! ................... 10

Lesson 4Control Your Temper .................. 13

Lesson 5Dare to Be Truthful .................... 16

Lesson 6Who’s in Charge? ...................... 19

Lesson 7Courage Counts.......................... 22

Lesson 8Ditch the Double Standard ........ 25

Lesson 9Path to Greatness ...................... 28

Lesson 10Worry—a Time Waster .............. 31

Dear Intermediates,

The Apostle Paul told the young minister Timothy that “All Scripture is inspiredby God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what iswrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do whatis right” (2 Timothy 3:16). What Paul didn’t mention in this passage is that muchof the Bible is also useful for offering wisdom and common sense advice on dailyliving.

The Book of Proverbs is particularly loaded with this wisdom from God,much of it about very down-to-earth situations in our lives. But God’s wisdom isnot limited to Proverbs. It is scattered throughout the Bible. Studying and dis-cussing the principles of that wisdom can help us live our lives with more joy andpeace. This Wisdom Series of YEA books focuses on that wisdom. The first bookin the series, The Way of Wisdom covers topics related to things that go on inour minds.

The lessons start with an overview of the importance of wisdom in Want toBe a Wise Guy? Next No Fooling! covers the topic of avoiding living foolishly byaccepting godly advice, guidance, and discipline from God and others. Tamingthe Tongue is about controlling what we say. Control Your Temper emphasizesthe characteristics of patience and emotional control. Daring to Be Truthful showsthe importance of honesty. Who’s In Charge? encourages making the rightchoices in the face of peer pressure. Courage Counts puts the spotlight on whatit means to be courageous. Ditch the Double Standard explores the value oftruthfulness. The Path to Greatness highlights humility. And Worry—a TimeWaster! offers biblical wisdom on dealing with worry, depression, and anxiety.

These are lessons that will keep on giving wisdomthroughout your life and put you ahead of the pack. So besure to read your lesson and your Daily Devotionals beforeclass. Be prepared to participate in great classes.

Pam DeweyContributing Witer

334

You have now completed the first book in the Wisdom series. By this time you

should have completed more than 130 lessons to teach you the things that everyteen should know about the Bible. The lessons in this book have taken you a stepfurther—to wisdom—to guide your thinking, emotions, and character.

There are so many benefits from having wisdom. “Get wisdom, get understand-ing: do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and shewill protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme, there-fore get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:5-7a NIV). These are the words of King Solomon, thewisest man to ever live. He also said, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom.” Whatteenager doesn’t want to be happy? You now know how to have it.

Your adventure in gaining wisdom has just begun. YEA will be offering threemore books in this series. Book Two will help you use your resources wisely.Learning good work habits, time management, money management, and thevalue of education at your age can mean a world of difference in the person youbecome. If you haven’t already ordered this book, pick up the phone and call1-888-BIBLE-44 or go online to www.borntowin.net and order it today! Learningwhat this book teaches could make the difference in whether you own the com-pany or work for someone else at minimum wage.

YEA is starting a new web program that will include activities for teens. It iscalled YEA! Let’s R.E.A.C.H. These activities are FREE. All you have to is go towww.borntowin.net and download the PDF files. Each one will help you alongyour journey to gaining biblical understanding and wisdom so you will have whatit takes to succeed and please God with your spiritual and character growth.

So order Book Two in the Wisdom series today and go online and check outYEA! Let’s R.E.A.C.H. These two steps can put you on the road to being a winner.

Everybody worries some of the time. It’s a normal part of life. With prayer and encouragementfrom friends and family, most people can work past their short periods of worry. But sometimesan overwhelming feeling of anxiety lasts much longer, and leaves someone with symptoms suchas unusual heartbeat, uncontrollable shaking, stomach upsets, exhaustion, or severe headaches.In these cases, it may be more than just regular worry and anxiety. There are illnesses that canhave such symptoms, and getting over them may require help from doctors or counselors. If youare ever seriously concerned that your feelings of worry and anxiety are more than you canhandle, if you ever feel hopeless about them, be sure to talk to your parents or other close adultfriends or family members so that they can get help for you if you need it. And if you have afriend who has these symptoms, encourage them to talk to someone and get help too.

Read the situations described below and answer the questions.

Your friend Shawn got a D in math last semester, and he was in a lot of trouble with his parents.Now with four weeks to go in this semester, he’s still getting Ds on his assignments. He spends alot of time telling you how worried his is about his grades, and is even getting headaches almostdaily because of it—but you’ve noticed he never finishes his assignments, and claims he’s havingtrouble understanding the assignments. What advice would you give him?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You were invited to go along on a vacation with your best friend’s family, and it sounded like agreat idea. Now you are in the middle of the vacation, with four days to go, and you are sud-denly overwhelmed with homesick feelings. Last night it even gave you a nightmare, and you’vestarted worrying constantly about your puppy who was sick when you left home.What advice would you give yourself?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You just found out your dad’s company has transferred him to a new factory clear across thecountry, and your family has to move this summer. You’ve lived in the same town all your life,and have known the same kids for all those years. You can’t imagine having to start over andmake all new friends and get used to a strange school. You’re beginning to feel depressed every

day about the move. What advice would you give yourself?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4

Activity

33

Memory VersePsalm 111:10 “Fear of the LORD is the foundationof true wisdom. All who obey his commandmentswill grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!” (NewLiving Translation).

ScripturesProverbs 1:1-6; 2:11-15; 4:6-9; 1 Kings 3:16-28

Words to KnowPROPROPROPROPROVERBVERBVERBVERBVERB - a short, wise saying designed to teachprinciples of living

In the first Star Wars movie, a teenage LukeSkywalker is sick of hanging around on the bleakplanet of Tattooine, working on his uncle’s boringfarm. He yearns for a life full of excitement. Al-though he supposedly lives “a long time ago in agalaxy far, far away,” he really isn’t much differentfrom teens on Earth in the 21st century. Fewpeople are happy being bored all the time. Theymight not want to risk their lives fighting ImperialStorm Troopers for excitement, but just going toschool every day, doing homework and chores athome in the evening, and watching TV to kill timereally isn’t the lifestyle that most young peoplewant. And how about the future? Someday youwill be done with school. Do you think that youwould be happy for the next 50 years or moredoing a boring job or working around the houseduring the day, and spending most of the rest ofyour time watching TV, eating, and sleeping?

“There has to be more to life,” is what mostpeople think. And they are right. God intended forlife to be enjoyable, exciting, meaningful, andproductive. But having that kind of life doesn’t just“come naturally.” It comes by making wisechoices, starting now when you are young. YoungLuke Skywalker wasn’t ready to tackle the excitinglife he would eventually have until he learnedfrom the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi and fromYoda. They taught him some of the principles thathe would need to succeed as a Jedi. Those menhad learned many lessons over their long, longlifetimes of experience (Yoda was supposedly over800 years old!) that they were willing to sharewith Luke so that he wouldn’t have to learn allthose lessons “the hard way.” If he chose to learnfrom their wisdom and put it into practice in hisown life, he would have a head start on succeed-ing in his own missions in life.

Discussion TipsAs you read the description below of how “wise sayings” can help guide you in life, think of examplesthat you have heard, both in the Bible and from other books you have read.

LessonLessonLessonLessonLesson11111

D

532

You may have never met anyone like Yoda orObi-Wan, but you do have a source of ancientwisdom to guide you in learning how to succeedin life. Long ago God inspired men to write downin the Bible many principles that are timeless, thatwill work for people in every generation whetherin 2000 BC or 2000 AD. We may assume thatpeople long ago were much different from our-selves, just because we know that their clothes,customs, and living style were so different. Butinside their hearts and minds, they were no differ-ent from you. They had the same emotions. . .love, joy, sadness, fear, pleasure, disappointment,enthusiasm, boredom. So the wisdom they weregiven by God and accumulated through their lifeexperiences can apply just as much to peopletoday who wear jeans and Nikes and ride in sportscars as it did to people who wore robes and san-dals and rode on donkeys in ancient Israel.

The material in The Way of Wisdom series isparticularly focused on the words of wisdom andinstruction in the Bible, especially in the Book ofProverbs. The idea of a proverb is not limited tothe Bible. Throughout history, teachers have usedproverbs to help learners understand principles oflife. Yoda often spoke in proverbs. . . a proverb is a“wise saying” that uses short, simple statementsto explain an important fact about the way lifeworks best. After Yoda began instructing Luke inhow to use “the Force,” Luke worked hard atputting his knowledge of it to work. But when hecommented to Yoda that he would “try” to do hisbest, Yoda spoke a proverb: “Do, or do not . . .there IS no ‘try.’” In other words, Yoda knew thatLuke was capable of doing what needed to bedone. The excuse that he would “try” indicatedthat he was doubtful, and wasn’t dedicated toseeing it through to success. Yoda knew that Lukeneeded to remove that doubt, and then he wouldsucceed. But instead of this long explanation, Yodaput the idea into a few memorable words.

Long before a Star Wars script writer put thosewords into the mouth of the fictional characterYoda (about a fictional “Force”), Jesus explainedto His disciples that they could do miracles just like

He did if they did not doubt the power of God. Hehad just caused a fig tree to instantly dry up anddie, and His disciples were amazed at His power.He replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faithand do not doubt, not only can you do what wasdone to the fig tree, but also you can say to thismountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and itwill be done” (Matthew 21:21).

The Bible is not fiction. And the wisdom itshares is not fictional wisdom for fictional charac-ters. The wisdom that you need to have a success-ful real life is available to you today. Unlike thecharacters in many video games, you don’t need togo on a long journey to try to find a phony wizardor genie to give you the keys to success. The wis-dom that provides those keys is right there in yourBible. The easiest place to start looking for this kindof wisdom is in the Book of Proverbs. Much of thebook was written by King Solomon, who is de-scribed as the wisest man who ever lived. He wasalso one of the richest and most successful menthroughout much of his life, and that wealth andsuccess came from his wisdom. The beginning ofthe Book of Proverbs describes the purpose forgathering Solomon’s wise sayings and sharing themwith readers: “These are the proverbs of Solomon,David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teachpeople wisdom and discipline, to help them under-stand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is toteach people to live disciplined and successful lives,to help them do what is right, just, and fair. Theseproverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledgeand discernment to the young. Let the wise listento these proverbs and become even wiser. Letthose with understanding receive guidance byexploring the meaning in these proverbs andparables, the words of the wise and their riddles”(Proverbs 1:1-16).

PrayerFather, Thank you for providing a source of wisdomin the Bible for everyone of every age to under-stand. Help me to learn and apply those lessons sothat I can make the most of every opportunity inmy life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Although it is not a passage from the Bible, itclearly reflects a number of biblical principles thatcan help you get through troubled times. Manypeople are constantly troubled by worry andanxiety about things over which they have nocontrol. Philip can’t insist that his dad not take thenew job. He needs to realize that this is one ofthose areas of life where he needs the serenitythat comes from God.

If there is a situation in your life that you dohave the power to change in a godly way, youmay be afraid to make that change. God can helpyou have the courage to make those kinds ofchanges. But if the situation is “out of yourhands,” it does no good to worry about it. Youneed to accept the reality that you can’t change it.Ask God to take away your anxiety and worry,help you have serenity in the middle of the situa-tion, and show you what to do instead of worry-ing. If it isn’t clear whether a situation is some-thing you can change, ask for God’s wisdom tohelp recognize the difference, and act accordingly.

Jesus made it clear what kind of things it reallywas useless to have anxiety over: “That is why Itell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, orenough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food,and your body more than clothing? Look at thebirds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food inbarns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Andaren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?Can all your worries add a singlemoment to your life? . . . so don’tworry about these things, saying,‘What will we eat? What will wedrink? What will we wear?’ Thesethings dominate the thoughts ofunbelievers, but your heavenlyFather already knows all your needs.Seek the Kingdom of God above allelse, and live righteously, and he willgive you everything you need. Sodon’t worry about tomorrow, fortomorrow will bring its own worries.Today’s trouble is enough for today”

(Matthew 6:25-27, 31-34). In other words, if thereis something that you can do today to take care ofyour needs by hard work, it’s enough to do that.Worrying about what “might happen” tomorrow isa waste of time and emotion.

A Christian who accepts God as the one whowill make sure his needs are met can rest from thekind of worry that those who reject God mighthave. Without God’s protection, those people areleft to rely on themselves: Proverbs 1:32-33: “Forsimpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools aredestroyed by their own complacency [feeling thatthey can take care of all problems by their ownpower]. But all who listen to me will live in peace,untroubled by fear of harm.”

The most important principle for “peace ofmind,” free from constant nagging worries aboutthe future, is trusting in God and keeping yourmind focused on His promises. Isaiah 26:3: “Youwill keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, allwhose thoughts are fixed on you!”

The Apostle Paul said the same thing inPhilippians 4:6-7, and explained how to keep yourthoughts fixed on God: “Don’t worry about any-thing; instead, pray about everything. Tell Godwhat you need, and thank him for all he has done.Then you will experience God’s peace, which

exceeds anything we can under-stand. His peace will guard

your hearts and minds asyou live in Christ Jesus.”

PrayerFather, Thank you forhelping me know thedifference between situa-tions in my life that I canchange, and those that Ineed to just quit worryingabout and let you handle. Youare bigger than all my prob-

lems, and I can rely on you to take care ofmy future. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

6 31

ActivityThe Bible says that King Solomon wasgranted so much wisdom from Godthat he amazed everyone who saw himin action. One of the incidents in theBible shows this would have made aterrific plot for a modern detective orCSI (Crime Scene Investigation) type ofTV show or movie! Just like moderndetectives, Solomon realized that solv-ing crimes doesn’t just involve lookingat pieces of physical evidence. He wasable to solve a really puzzling case ofkidnapping without any of the modernpolice tools like fingerprinting and DNAsampling. Part of the wisdom he had was in how to apply his understanding of humannature to situations. Read 1 Kings 3:16-28 and then answer the following:

1. What unusual circumstances made it possible for the kidnapper to think she could getaway with her crime?

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. Do you think Solomon really planned to have the baby killed? Why or why not?

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. What did Solomon understand about human nature that convinced him he could figureout which woman was the real mother? Was he right?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Memory VerseMatthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God aboveall else, and live righteously, and he will give youeverything you need.”

ScripturesProverbs 1:32-33; Isaiah 26:3; Matthew 6:25-34;Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:6-7

Words to KnowANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETY - a constant feeling of worry, fear, anddread, often not focused on a specific, immediatethreat, nor aimed at logically trying to find asolution to problemsSERENITYSERENITYSERENITYSERENITYSERENITY - a feeling of total calm and peace; lackof worry

Philip is very close to his dad, Tony. Several of hisfriends don’t even have a dad at home, so Philiphas been so grateful to have a dad who is able toshow him a lot of affection and encouragement.Philip was happy when he heard Dad was goingto get an amazing opportunity to speak at aconvention in Chicago in front of some veryimportant political leaders. He knew Tony hadbeen working for years becoming a leader in hisfield of work, and was excited for him that now itwas all paying off. Philip and his Mom saw Dadoff at the airport two days ago. He is due backhome today. And now Philip is sitting in front ofthe TV watching weather reports of a huge bliz-zard that has suddenly hit the Chicago area. Theairport is in chaos, two planes have already slid offthe runway attempting to take off. Is it any sur-prise that Philip’s stomach is knotted with worry?

It’s not wrong to feel concern and worry inscary circumstances. We would certainly be heart-

less if we didn’t really care what happened to ourfamily and friends. But what if Philip’s dad comeshome safe and sound from this scary trip—andannounces that he is taking a new job that isgoing to have him flying several times a year allover the country? It is understandable that thismight leave Philip feeling very anxious much ofthe time. But the reality is that it is not emotionallyor spiritually healthy to let this sort of feeling takeover your life. Philip will need to find ways to dealwith his emotions and work past the anxiety. If hehas God in his life, he has the greatest source ofpeace of mind that anyone can have.

“God grant me the serenity to accept thethings I cannot change; courage to change thethings I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”You can find that famous inspirational prayer onposters, wall plaques, key chains, and greetingcards. It has helped millions of people throughtimes of worry, anxiety, and fear over the years.

Discussion TipsWorrying about an exam tomorrow enough to study for it tonight is one thing. Being constantly anxiousabout what might happen months from now is another. What can you do to turn anxiety into serenity?


7

Activity

30

A word which you may have used or heard from others related to pride and humility is“arrogant.” An arrogant person has the wrong kind of pride. They often brag about them-selves—what they have, what they can do, how they look, how important they are—andput down others. A truly humble person can be pleased at good things about themselves,but they don’t need to brag about them all the time, and they can also see the positivequalities of others. Consider each situation described below and answer the questions.

Candace just walked in to a party. She’s wearing the beautiful, expensive blue sweater shegot for her 15th birthday from the exclusive shop in the mall. It matches her blue eyes, andas she looks around the room, sizing up what the other girls are wearing, she smiles trium-phantly because she is convinced she is the prettiest girl in the room. She leans over to herfriend Judi and whispers “Did you see that tacky dress Kara is wearing? I’ll bet she got thatat K-Mart!” Kara walks up and says, “Wow—that’s a gorgeous sweater, Candace! It reallybrings out the blue in your eyes.” Candace replies, “Oh—this old thing? I decidedto wear it at the last minute because it was the only thing clean in my closet!”

Do you think Candace was being truly humble? Why or why not?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kyle Greenly was just elected president of the student council of the whole middleschool. A reporter for the school newspaper asks him, “Why do you think more peoplevoted for you than your opponent James Fenton?” Kyle replies, “I’ve been working for along time on ideas for how to improve relations between the different grades here at theschool. I’ve introduced plans for four ways student clubs can raise money for the schoolproject to add a swimming pool. And when the Board of Education announced plans todrop art classes at the middle school level because their budget was tight, I started thesuccessful petition that convinced them to reconsider that decision. I guess a lot of studentsagreed with me on the importance of the things I’ve been working on to make the schoolbetter for all of us.”

Kyle certainly had a lot to say about himself and all the great stuff he had done. Do youthink he was being arrogant in this situation? Why or why not?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Memory VerseProverbs 12:15 “Fools think their own way is right,but the wise listen to others.”

ScripturesProverbs 3:11-12; 12:1, 15; 15:5, 22, 31-32; 19:20

Words to KnowFOOLFOOLFOOLFOOLFOOL - someone who acts in an unintelligent andcareless manner, often wickedly

A F F F F Foolish Toolish Toolish Toolish Toolish Talealealealeale: 13-year-old Jessie had nevertouched a pile of so much money in her life. Birth-day cards from both sets of grandparents and threesets of aunts and uncles had each contained 20dollar bills, and there it all was on her desk—$100!She talked her mom into taking her to the mall fora shopping trip that afternoon. Mom and Dad hadboth suggested that putting some of the moneyaway to spend later, or even depositing much of itin her savings account at the bank would be agood idea. But they didn’t insist, and by the timeshe returned home from the mall she had a pile ofshopping bags, and only $2 left in her purse. Infact, the pile of bags wasn’t very big. She hadn’trealized that clothes were quite so expensive. Shenever paid attention to the price tags when Momwas buying them for her. But, in addition to threeblouses, two pairs of shorts, and a pair of sandals,she had managed to get quite a few pairs of inex-pensive pierced earrings and several bracelets at

the jewelry shop. So it seemed after all that shehad gotten a lot for her money. And it was fun tospend money so freely!

It wasn’t so much fun when she looked backon it the next morning. Her best friend, Erin, hadjust called, excited about a three-day trip that herfamily was going to take to Six Flags amusementpark the next weekend. They planned to stay in anice motel with a big swimming pool, and be ableto spend one whole day at the park from earlymorning until late at night. Erin had nagged andnagged her parents, and they finally agreed thatshe could invite Jessie to go along. Neither Erinnor Jessie had ever been to Six Flags, and they’dbeen yearning to go there for the past three years.All Jessie would need for the trip was $50 to payfor her park ticket and food. But, since it was $50she didn’t have, it might as well have been $1000.And Mom and Dad were not in the mood to come

Discussion TipsMost teens don’t use the word “fool” to describe someone these days. But that doesn’t mean fools werea kind of people who lived only in Bible times when the Proverbs were being written. There are just asmany foolish people around today. As you read the story below, think about what “names” those atyour school call people who make foolish decisions. How would you feel about being called one of thosenames—especially if you knew you deserved the label?


8 29

up with $50 for a young woman who had justfreely blown almost $100 on a spending spree theday before. As she hung up the phone, she lookedinto the mirror, scowled at her reflection, anddemanded—“How could you be such a FOOL?”

Does the fictional Jessie sound like anyone youknow? Was her situation like any you have everbeen in? Have you ever accused yourself of beinga “fool”? (Or perhaps you used another term, like“idiot” or “dummy.”) The Book of Proverbs talks alot about “fools” and the “foolishness” they do.Maybe you haven’t heard the words “fool” or“foolish” used much in daily life, and aren’t quitesure what they mean. You probablyrealize that foolishness is sort ofthe opposite of wisdom, but maybe unsure exactly how they arerelated. Wisdom isn’t the same asintelligence. You can be an intelli-gent fool. Wisdom isn’t the sameas being educated. You can bean educated fool.

Intelligence is the ability totake in information and use it effec-tively. Education is the collection ofinformation you get, and the understanding ofhow it all fits together. But you need more thanintelligence and education to be wise. Wisdom isthe ability to consider carefully all of that informa-tion and understanding, and then make decisionsthat are best for the circumstances.

Everyone doesn’t have the same level of intelli-gence. But you don’t need to be a genius to growin wisdom in the important things in life. Even ifyou learn more slowly than some of your friends,you can develop wisdom. Sometimes we learn allon our own from our mistakes, realizing whatwe’ve done wrong and why, then deciding tomake changes to do better next time. But othertimes we may not even realize that we have donewrong. Or we may have a hard time admittingthat we have done wrong, or have no idea how tochange to do better. That’s when we need adviceor discipline from others.

Discipline is not the same as punishment.Punishment means making someone suffer insome way to “get even” with them for doingwrong. If a man robs a bank and is caught, thelegal system may put him in jail for several yearsas punishment for his crime. Most people who goto jail don’t come out with a change of heart, trulysorry for what they did. If they are changed at alland avoid committing crimes in the future, itwould only be because they didn’t like being injail, and want to avoid those consequences.

The word discipline doesn’t mean to punishsomeone. Discipline means teaching or training,

used to help someone change forthe better. If someone doessomething wrong, to disciplinethem would mean to work withthem to help change their mind towant to do right things in thefuture.

It’s not wrong or evil to make amistake. Everyone makes a mistake at

some time. What is really wrong is notto admit the mistake. And it’s wrong not

to try to change to do better. Admittingour mistakes, learning from them or from thediscipline and advice of others, and working onfixing what’s wrong leads to growth in wisdom.

The opposite of wisdom is foolishness. Theopposite of a wise person is a fool. A fool is onewho doesn’t learn from his mistakes. He doesn’tunderstand the importance of learning. He oftenthinks he “knows it all” already. And he ignoresthe advice and discipline of God and others. TheBook of Proverbs in the Bible contains a lot ofadvice about how to avoid ending up being a fool.

PrayerFather in heaven, Thank you for providing guid-ance in the Bible on how to avoid being a fool.Please help me to learn from my mistakes, so thatI never stop growing in wisdom. In Jesus’ name.Amen.

beautiful coat, proud because he seemed to be-lieve that someday he would be powerful and hiswhole family would bow down to him as a ruler.And if you had to pick one adjective to describewhat Joseph wasn’t, a good choice would be“humble”!

Joseph’s brothers hated him so much, theyplotted to sell him into slavery to get rid of him.Later they may have felt guilty about this because itmade their father Jacob so sad when he thoughtthat Joseph was dead. Getting rid of Joseph cer-tainly didn’t make Jacob love them more. But theresults of their action did make a change in Joseph.His experiences as a slave in Egypt humbled him.

Because God gifted Joseph with administrativeskills he won favor with his Egyptian master, but itwasn’t long before his master’s wife betrayed him.This led to his imprisonment in an Egyptian jail.Even there God was able to continue to blessJoseph with skills. God gifted him with the abilityto interpret dreams for other people. Pharaoh hada troubling dream and asked Joseph to interpret it.Instead of this causing his old pride to swell backup, and making him think that he was great,Joseph was finally a humble man who gave Godall the praise for his gift and ability.

“Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he wasquickly brought from the prison. After he shavedand changed his clothes, he went in and stoodbefore Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Ihad a dream last night, and no one here can tellme what it means. But I have heard that when youhear about a dream you can interpret it.’ ‘It is

beyond my power to do this,’ Joseph replied. ‘ButGod can tell you what it means and set you atease’” (Genesis 41:14-16).

The end result was that Pharaoh made Josephsecond in command over all Egypt. He used thatpower to rescue his whole family from starvationand bring them to live with him in Egypt. Josephhad finally learned one of the principles thatSolomon would later write down in a number ofpassages in the Book of Proverbs: “Pride ends inhumiliation, while humility brings honor” (29:23).“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness[being full of pride] before a fall. Better to livehumbly with the poor than to share plunder withthe proud” (16:18-19).

In the New Testament Jesus goes even onestep farther and tells just how humble we shouldlearn to be: “About that time the disciples came toJesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdomof Heaven?’ Jesus called a little child to him andput the child among them. Then he said, ‘I tell youthe truth, unless you turn from your sins andbecome like little children, you will never get intothe Kingdom of Heaven.’ So anyone who becomesas humble as this little child is the greatest in theKingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes alittle child like this on my behalf is welcomingme’” (Matthew 18:1-5).

Little children know that they have to rely onthose “bigger” than themselves to take care ofthem. They aren’t proud of their own abilities tocontrol their circumstances. God wants us to relytotally on Him to take care of us, give him thehonor for the gifts that He gives, and use thosegifts to serve Him and serve others. If we do, Hewill “lift us up” and we will be truly great!

PrayerHeavenly Father, Thank you for always taking

care of me. Teach me to be truly humble, and usemy abilities and efforts to serve others, rather thanallow myself to be full of pride. In Jesus’ name Ipray. Amen.

9

Activity

28

If Jessie from today’s story ended up learning from her mistake andmaking wiser choices about handling money in the future, she mayhave made one foolish decision, but she will not be a fool. Just asJessie did, you may make foolish decisions occasionally, and you mayhave to suffer the consequences of those foolish decisions. The goodthing about beginning to build wisdom when you are young, is that you’ll suffer a lot fewerconsequences than men and women who wait until they are 20, or 30, or 50, to start seek-ing wisdom! The Book of Proverbs is a good place to start on that path to wisdom. Read thefollowing passages from Proverbs and answer the questions.

Proverbs 3:11-12 “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset whenhe corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whomhe delights.” Since you can’t see God, name one way in which He might give you correction.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Proverbs 15:5 “Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline; whoever learns from correctionis wise.” Proverbs 12:1 “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.”Why is it stupid to hate correction?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Proverbs 15:31-32 “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among thewise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you growin understanding.” What does the term “constructive criticism” mean?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

What do you think is the difference between constructive criticism and someone just pickingon you because they don’t like something you did?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Memory VerseMatthew 23:12 “But those who exalt themselveswill be humbled, and those who humble them-selves will be exalted.”

ScripturesProverbs 16:18-19; 29:23; Matthew 18:1-5; 1Peter 5:5-6

Words to KnowEXALEXALEXALEXALEXALTTTTT - - - - - to lift up; to exalt someone is to praisethem and encourage others to admire themPRIDE PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE - - - - - a feeling of pleasure and a sense of accom-plishment because of your talents and things youhave done; the wrong kind of pride means thatyou feel that you are better than others becauseof your accomplishments, and expect others topraise and honor youHUMILITYHUMILITYHUMILITYHUMILITYHUMILITY - - - - - viewing others as just as important asyourself; not full of the wrong kind of prideHUMILIAHUMILIAHUMILIAHUMILIAHUMILIATETETETETE - - - - - to reduce to a lower position in one’sown eyes or others’ eyes

Joseph was a teenager when we first read abouthim in the Bible in Genesis 38. When Joseph was17 years old, he tended his father’s flocks. Heworked for his half brothers, the sons of hisfather’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. Joseph reportedto his father some of the bad things his brotherswere doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any ofhis other children because Joseph was born to himin his old age. So one day Jacob had a special giftmade for Joseph—a beautiful robe. His brothershated Joseph because their father loved him morethan the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kindword to him. One night Joseph had a dream, andwhen he told his brothers about it, they hated himmore than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said.“We were out in the field, tying up bundles ofgrain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your

bundles all gathered around and bowed lowbefore mine!” His brothers responded, “So youthink you will be our king, do you? Do you actu-ally think you will reign over us?” And they hatedhim all the more because of his dreams and theway he talked about them. Soon Joseph hadanother dream, and again he told his brothersabout it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” hesaid. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed lowbefore me!” (Genesis 38:2-9).

If you had to pick one adjective to describeJoseph from the little bit we read about him here,what would it be? One that would fit would be“proud.” He wasn’t even proud about anything hehad done. He was proud of the fact that his dadloved him more than his brothers, proud of his

Discussion TipsThe Bible doesn’t say it is wrong to be pleased with yourself for good things you accomplish. But whatdoes it have to say about those who think they are “hot stuff” because they can do something thatothers can’t, and who expect others to praise them and look up to them?


10 27

ActivityIn the early portions of the book of Proverbs, Solomon sometimes personifies Wisdom, givingthis quality the characteristics of a human. And this Wisdom speaks: “For I [Wisdom] speak thetruth and detest every kind of deception”(Proverbs 8:7). In other words, the “wisdom” insideeach wise person will cause them to speak the truth and detest (hate) any kind of deception.Sometimes we think of the word “truth” as having to do only with things we say. But it ispossible to deceive people by the way things are done too. Consider each situation below andanswer each question.

Proverbs 16:11 says, “The Lord demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standardsfor fairness.” Fred owns a grocery store. The scales his cashiers use to weigh items can beadjusted to make things appear heavier than they really are. Without telling a lie in words,how could Fred use this fact to deceive people?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Joe was involved in a serious front-end collision in his car. It is possible to repair the damage toa car body, and repaint it so that it looks almost brand new. Without telling a lie in words, howcould Joe use this fact to deceive someone wanting to buy a good used car? As long as hedoesn’t say specifically that the car was never in an accident, do you think God would considerthat Joe was “lying”? If so, do you consider it a “serious” lie?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If the engine in Joe’s car from the example above was damaged in the collision, it might notlook damaged on the outside at all. If he sold the car to someone and the damaged enginefailed and caused a traffic accident in which the buyer died, would this make the lie moreserious? Why or why not?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We can’t always predict what the results will be when we avoid telling the truth,or when we deceive people in a situation that doesn’t seem too serious.

Wisdom tells us to avoid this problem by always telling the truth.

Memory VerseProverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath,but a harsh word stirs up anger” (New LivingTranslation).

ScripturesProverbs 4:20-24; 13:3; 17:14; 18:2, 13; 20:3;1 Timothy 4:12; James 3:7-10

Words to KnowPERPERPERPERPERVERSEVERSEVERSEVERSEVERSE - - - - - turned away from what is right andgoodCORRUPTCORRUPTCORRUPTCORRUPTCORRUPT - - - - - changed from good to bad in morals,manners, speech, or actions

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, butwords will never hurt me.” Did you ever hearanyone say that? If someone is picked on or madefun of, they might use those words to tell them-selves not to be upset, since words can’t touchthem in the same way getting punched or kickedwould. Unfortunately, the reality is that wordsmay not bruise you or break your bones, butwords can break your heart. For words really canhurt other people badly. In fact, you can reallyhurt yourself with your own words. Solomon hada lot of advice in the Book of Proverbs about howmuch your “tongue”—the things that you say—can harm your relationships, your own life andheart, and others. There are many ways yourtongue can be a problem for you. In this lesson wewill focus on two of them.

Solomon talked about the first way in Proverbs4:24: “Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from

corrupt speech.....” It shouldn’t be hard to imaginewhat kind of speech Solomon is talking about.Even little children know when they say a“naughty word.” And teens all know the kind of“dirty talk” you wouldn’t want a friend to speak infront of your grandmother! Solomon said that thewise person will stay away from that type of talk.So how can you avoid using perverse talk andcorrupt speech? If you are honest, you’ll admitthat you need to avoid and stay away from thosewho use it all the time, because their words willwork their way into your heart, and you will findyourself bringing up perverse and corrupt things inyour own talking. In Proverbs, Solomon tells hisson to put, instead, words of wisdom into hisheart, and then he will bring up words that bringhealing and life, rather than pain and harm.

One of the most powerful modern sources ofperverse and corrupt talk is some popular music.

Discussion TipsHave you ever gotten yourself in trouble, not for doing something wrong, but for just saying somethingwrong? Consider how much trouble you may avoid in the future if you follow the advice from Proverbsin this lesson about how to “tame your tongue.”


1126

Many young people know how rotten and dirtysome of the lyrics are that they listen to on theradio. Often they insist that they are “not listeningto the words,” just enjoying the sounds of themusical accompaniment. They are only foolingthemselves! You don’t have to focus on the wordsto hear the words, and to have them get into yourmind and heart. Advertisers regularly and deliber-ately put objects or words into movies and TVshows, which viewers don’t pay any consciousattention to. The advertisers are convinced bytheir research that the “subconscious” mind of theviewer really does register what it has seen, andthat can affect buying practices. This is called“product placement,” and is done all the time. Inthe movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the boy, Elliot,lures E.T. out of hiding by leaving a trail of candy-coated chocolates. The movie’s producers offeredthe maker of M&Ms the opportunity to have theircandy featured in these scenes. But that companydidn’t realize how powerful subconscious advertis-ing could be, and turned down the offer. Instead,the makers of Reese’s Pieces grabbed up the offer.And the result was amazing—the sale of Reese’sPieces went up 65% as a direct result! Don’t everbelieve that things you don’t “focus” on have noaffect on your mind and heart.

You can’t totally avoid all corrupt and perversetalk, since you have to live in the world. In fact,perhaps even adult members of your own familyspeak in ways you know are not wholesome andgodly. God doesn’t expect you to try to changethem, for instance, by lecturing them. What Hedoes expect is that, in whatever parts of your lifeyou have control over, you will avoid listening tothat kind of talk. And in those situations in whichyou have no choice, you can ask God to help youreject what you hear before it can get deep insideyou. You may even find that, by being a goodexample in the way you choose to talk, you mayhelp others change for the better. Paul told ayoung minister named Timothy how importantthis is in 1 Timothy 5:12: “Don’t let anyone thinkless of you because you are young. Be an exampleto all believers in what you say, in the way youlive, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”

The second kind of problem that your tongue cancause you is useless quarrels and arguing. If youare going to be successful in life, you need to getalong well with other people. Most big accom-plishments in life need the cooperation of others.No matter how gifted or talented or smart youare, if you offend or hurt people regularly withcareless words, if you have a habit of trying topick a fight all the time, people aren’t going towant to work with you, be your friend, or payattention to what you have to say. Your best planscould be left in a mess if you can’t tame yourtongue: “Those who control their tongue willhave a long life; opening your mouth can ruineverything” (Proverbs 13:3).

Even if you have been in the habit of gettinginto arguments, perhaps with brothers or sisters,you can get out of that foolish habit. Proverbssuggests two ways: 1) Decide ahead of time thatuseless quarreling makes no sense, and thus refuseto be drawn into arguments. Proverbs 17:14 says:“Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, sostop before a dispute breaks out.” Proverbs 20:3adds, “Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; onlyfools insist on quarreling.” 2) Listen as much asyou speak when you are talking with someoneabout a disagreement, so that you can understandtheir point of view. Most people don’t get upsetjust because others disagree with them. They getupset if they think the other person doesn’t careenough about their opinion to at least pay atten-tion and try to understand that opinion. Proverbs18:2 explains what fools do in discussions: “Foolshave no interest in understanding; they only wantto air their own opinions.” Nobody wants to befriends with, or work with, a fool!

PrayerDear Father in Heaven, Please help me grow inwisdom on how to control my tongue so that thethings that I say won’t hurt myself and others.Thank you for showing me ways to bring peace tomy relationships through choosing to speak gentlywhen I should. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

advertising campaigns are based on deceivingbuyers by exaggerating the quality or value ofproducts, or even misrepresenting facts aboutthem. You have probably purchased items thatdidn’t live up to the glamorous promises of the adsthat persuaded you to buy them.

How do you feel when you find out you’vebeen deliberately “lied to”? We all wish thateverybody else in the world would tell the truth allthe time. When we discover that we have beenthe victim of a lie, it’s very clear to us why “hon-esty is the best policy”—for everybody else. Butsometimes it may seem not as clear when we haveto make our own decisions about whether or notto try to be deceptive ourselves. People who havea “double standard” when it comes to telling thetruth want others to never try to mislead them.But when they are under pressure, they may makeexcuses for their own temptation to get what theywant by lying. Could that describe you at times?

For many teens, this can be as simple as beingwilling to lie to a parent about where they aregoing after school, because they really want to go,but know it is someplace that the parent wouldnot approve of. This can seem like a small, “harm-less” lie to many teens. They think, “What theydon’t know won’t hurt them.” But even if nothingbad happens to the teen that afternoon at theforbidden destination, and even if it is true that it“didn’t hurt” the parents either, something wasdamaged. For every time a lie is told, whethersomeone “gets away” with it or not, the relation-ship between the liar and the one lied to is dam-aged. And the reality is that very few teens lie justonce to their parents. If they seem to get awaywith it, it can quickly become a habit to lie. TheBible makes it clear that this pattern can’t lastforever: “Truthful words stand the test of time,but lies are soon exposed” (Proverbs 12:19). Onceyou tell a lie, you may have to tell another tocover up the first lie, and the situation can quicklysnowball out of your control.

When teens ask for permission to do some-thing new, parents often say no—and the cry goesup: “You don’t trust me!” Unfortunately, that maywell be true. The parents don’t trust him or her.The question is, why is this so? And the answeroften is that the teen has not earned the trust ofparents by being open, honest, and dependable allthe time. And they may even have destroyed thattrust by a habit of twisting the truth.

Politicians and entertainers in the headlineswho have been caught in lies that harmed othersand ruined their own reputations didn’t just startlying last week. It is no doubt a habit started intheir childhood and teens. Growing up, they mayhave found that their parents and others wereblinded to their lies, so they were convinced thatthey were getting away with it. Since it helpedthem get their own way much of the time, theybecame addicted to the habit. But, sooner or later,it will catch up with them and they will find outthat there are many good reasons why God hateslying, and puts it in the same category as murderand other kinds of evil. “There are six things theLord hates—no, seven things he detests: haughtyeyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,a false witness who pours out lies, a person whosows discord in a family” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Youneed to choose right now to Ditch the DoubleStandard you may have about telling the truth.Expect the same standard of truth from yourselfthat you expect from everyone else. Don’t waituntil you find someday that you’ve destroyed yourreputation and the trust of those important to you,by bending the truth to get what you want.

PrayerThank you, heavenly Father, for your words in theBible that I can always trust to tell me the truthabout any subject. Please help me to resist thetemptation to lie so I will grow into the kind ofperson everyone can trust to tell the truth, too.

Activity

2512

In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon wrote, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines thecourse of your life.” Jesus explains why in Luke 6:45: “A good person produces good thingsfrom the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury ofan evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” The word “heart” is the poeticway that the Bible talks about your mind, and particularly your emotions. How dothings get in your heart? One way is what you deliberately put in itthrough what you choose to read, listen to on the radio, watch on TV, ordo with friends. The other way is what you just let come in casuallywithout thinking about it because you aren’t “guarding the door to yourheart.” After these things get deep in your heart through either of theways described, they are going to come back out through what you say,how you treat people, and what you do. You need “good treasure” inyour heart so that what comes back out is a blessing to yourself and others.And you need to guard that good treasure, so that it stays pure and good.Answer the following questions about some ways to “guard your heart.”

1. List any rules in your home for what you are allowed to watch on TV. Do you think therules are fair and sensible? Why or why not? (If your parents don’t have rules for you, arethere any limits you have set for yourself on what you will let yourself watch?)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Have you ever walked away from a conversation with friends because the way they weretalking made you feel uncomfortable? If so, how did they react?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. What could you do if you were at a friend’s house and they chose to put on a recording ofsome music with really foul lyrics that you didn’t want to listen to?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Have you ever accidentally come across any websites while surfing the Internet that werereally gross? What do you think is the best thing to do when that happens?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Memory VersePsalm 25:4-5 “Show me the right path, O LORD,point out the road for me to follow. Lead me byyour truth and teach me, for you are the God whosaves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”

ScripturesProverbs 6:16-19; 8:7; 12:19; Psalm 15:1-2;Isaiah 59:4, 14-15; Ephesians 4:25

Words to KnowDECEPTIVEDECEPTIVEDECEPTIVEDECEPTIVEDECEPTIVE - speaking or acting in a way to deliber-ately mislead—deceive—othersHAHAHAHAHAVING A “DOUBLE STVING A “DOUBLE STVING A “DOUBLE STVING A “DOUBLE STVING A “DOUBLE STANDANDANDANDANDARDARDARDARDARD””””” - Holding otherpeople to a different set of rules than you acceptfor yourself, usually expecting them to do morethan you expect of yourself

Isaiah the prophet lived in a very dark time in thehistory of the nation of Israel. Writing in about 700BC, he said this about his country: “No one caresabout being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuitsare based on lies. They conceive evil deeds andthen give birth to sin. . . Our courts oppose therighteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truthstumbles in the streets, and honesty has beenoutlawed. Yes, truth is gone, and anyone whorenounces evil is attacked. . . (Isaiah 59:4, 14-15).

Was not one single person in the countryhonest, did absolutely no one tell the truth, ever?Was it really “against the law” to tell the truth?It’s likely that Isaiah, as other Bible writers attimes, was using a poetic style known as “hyper-bole.” That means deliberately exaggeratingcomments for effect, to make a serious point. Hewas emphasizing that lying had become so com-

mon that honest people, who “renounced evil”(avoided doing evil themselves and spoke outagainst the evil around them), might find them-selves attacked and criticized for it.

Do Isaiah’s comments seem a little bit familiarto you? Isaiah could be describing some conditionsin modern 21st century society! Many famouspeople, including presidents, senators, sports stars,and entertainers have been exposed for telling liesin important situations in recent years. It’s com-mon for lawsuit cases in courts to be based on lies.And people who have been courageous enough torisk their jobs or even their lives to tell the truthabout evil being done by businesses or govern-ment agencies have been ridiculed or threatened.

Does truth “stumble in the streets”? Well, it surelystumbles a lot of the time on television! Many

Discussion TipsSometimes parents who smoke will tell their teens, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” This is a kind ofdouble standard. Double standards are easy to spot in others—but do you have one for yourself? Andwhat does the idea of a double standard have to do with telling the truth?


13

Activity

24

Some people seem to be born with courage. They don’t let fearful situations stop them.But that kind of person is in the minority. Most of us fight with fears and worries all ourlives. Part of this is because we are not confident in our strength to deal with people andsituations that threaten us. Solomon knew that his son would likely feel that way, and heexplained to him the solution—we don’t need to be confident in our own strength! Godhas all power, and He’s promised to protect us and help us overcome any problem if wewalk in His ways with wisdom.

“My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep yousafe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear;you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster orthe destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He willkeep your foot from being caught in a trap” (Proverbs 3:21-26).

Memorizing some of the promises of God can help you have courage when you arefrightened. Read the passages below and answer the questions. You may need to use adictionary.

Proverbs 14:26: What is a “refuge”? What do you think is meant by “God is a refuge”?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luke 12:22-26: Explain in your own words what Jesus says about the value of worrying.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Matthew 10:29-31: Jesus said this to encourage His disciples not to be afraid. Name onething you worry about, and explain in your own words why Jesus says you shouldn’tworry about it.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Psalm 56:9-11, Psalm 118:5-6: Why does the writer of Psalms say that he doesn’t needto have fear of “mere people”?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient and kind.Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Itdoes not demand its own way. It is not irritable,and it keeps no record of being wronged” (NewLiving Translation).

ScripturesProverbs 14:17, 29; 16:32; 19:11, 19;Ephesians 4:26; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Words to KnowIRRITIRRITIRRITIRRITIRRITABLEABLEABLEABLEABLE - quick to become grumpy or angry,often over small thingsHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT-----TEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPERED or SHORSHORSHORSHORSHORTTTTT-----TEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPEREDTEMPERED - quick tobecome very angry, and perhaps say or do thingsthat will be regretted later

Cartoon animators have their own “shorthand”way of drawing emotions. For instance, if a femalecartoon duck, looking at a male cartoon duck, tipsher head down just a little and to the side, fluttersher eyelashes, and has little red patches suddenlyshow up on the feathers and face, you know thatshe has a crush on the guy duck, but is too shy totell him. So what does it mean if you see smokecoming out of Donald Duck’s ears and the top ofhis head exploding like an H-bomb? Yes, Donaldjust “blew his top” and got uncontrollably angryover something that happened.

It’s humorous to see a cartoon duck throw a fitover some minor problem in life, such as hiscartoon nephews tricking him about something.But how do you feel if you are around a humanadult who has just blown up in anger in a similarway? What if you are at a new friend’s house, andhis dad goes into a rage at his mom because he

found out she had forgotten to do some errandfor him that day? No, there is no physical explo-sion and smoke. But it can be frightening to seesuch an emotional explosion. If she responds inrage back at him, and they get into a big shoutingargument, it can be really scary. And it wouldprobably make you sorry for your friend, to haveto live around that.

To be honest, it’s that way in many homes.You’ve probably been around people like that inyour own family or the families of friends. Whenyou see people who are 35 or 40 years old fool-ishly shouting at each other over some minorproblem, did it ever occur to you that they didn’tget that way overnight? There was a time whenthey were teenagers themselves. Somewherealong the way, something happened that set themon a path to being short-tempered and irritable,and unable to control their emotions.

Discussion TipsThere are right and wrong ways of dealing with anger. Look for them in this lesson.


14 23

What happened is that they were nevertaught, or never realized when they were young,that you can choose how to react emotionally toproblems. They have never practiced reacting in ahealthy way to situations that might cause anger.They just let their emotions control them, insteadof realizing that they could be the one in control.If you get married and have children, wouldn’t itbe great to have the kind of home that your kids’friends would love to come and visit? Wouldn’tyou want to be the kind of parent who makesyour kids proud because you don’t let little thingsrile you? That’s not going to happen withoutmaking a conscious choice now, when you areyoung, and growing in patience and self-controlas you grow in age.

The Bible is full of advice on how to becomethe master of, instead of a slave to, your emotionssuch as anger. You may be wondering—is it wrongfor a Christian to ever be angry? Are they sup-posed to always be cheerful, and never let any-thing bother them at all? No, it’s not wrong to beangry. Ephesians 4:26 explains: “And don’t sin byletting anger control you. Don’t let the sun godown while you are still angry. . .” In other words,it’s not a sin to get angry, but it’s a sin to stayangry. If something has made you angry, you needto do what you can to take care of the situation,and then let it go. The real problem isn’t anger. It’show you handle three aspects of dealing with youranger. Proverbs gives wise advice on how to dothat.

1. How easily do you get angered by small thingsthat shouldn’t make you really angry? Proverbs19:11 says, “Sensible people control theirtemper; they earn respect by overlookingwrongs.”

2. How quickly do you get angry, instead of beingpatient and seeing if things can be worked out?Proverbs 14:29 says, “A patient man has greatunderstanding, but a quick-tempered mandisplays folly.” If you learn to be patient, youmight find out that you misunderstood whathappened, and are “angry over nothing.”

3. What do you do with anger that will unneces-sarily hurt you or others? Do you let it controlyou and cause you to do things you will regret?Proverbs 14:17 says, “Short-tempered peopledo foolish things, and schemers are hated.” Thiskind of “schemer” might be the kind of personwho plots how to get even with people whohave done things that made him angry. If youfind yourself doing things that you regret laterbecause you lose control of your temper, youmay be the kind of person in Proverbs 19:19:“Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. Ifyou rescue them once, you will have to do itagain.” In other words, the only thing that mayhelp a hot-tempered person learn to controltheir temper is having to pay a penalty for thefoolish things they do. If you often break thingswhen you are angry, and your parents just keepreplacing them, they need to realize that youmay never stop doing it. If you have to replacethe broken items with your own money, or dowithout, you may finally get the message tolearn to control your temper!

If you take the advice in Proverbs to heart, youcan grow to be the kind of person you’d want tobe around, yourself!

PrayerFather in Heaven, Please forgive me for the timesI’ve been too quick to be angry at others. Help megrow in patience, and learn to control my anger,not let it control me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

crash. Even worse than this are news reports suchas the following from California:

A 15-year-old Oceanside boy died Saturdaynight when he tried to run across the tracks infront of a train and was struck and killed,sheriff’s officials said. Sheriff’s Railroad En-forcement Unit Deputy Gary Wilcoxson saidthe teenager was among a group of 22 youthsplaying “chicken” with the train, a dangerousgame in which people try to see how closethey can get to a train without being struck.Graham Suchman died at 10:06 p.m. when hewas struck about 74 feet south of the 200block of Wisconsin Avenue, medicalexaminer’s investigator Michael Ellano said. Hesuffered severe head trauma and died in-stantly, Wilcoxson said. (North County Times,4/2/2006)

Did this young man really want to play this“game”? Or did some of the 21 other youngpeople call him “chicken” if he hesitated? Wouldhe really have been a coward if he avoided takingthe dares? Did he die because he was courageousand brave? Is this what “bravery” and “courage”are all about? And is it wrong to be fearful? Afterall, there are passages in the Bible that tell believ-ers to be courageous and to not fear.

The error young people make when theyengage in such dangerous behavior is misunder-standing or ignoring that all fear is not “createdequal.” There are several different kinds of fearthat people can experience:

1) Fear of immediate physical danger, such asa vicious, snarling dog coming at you—or a train.Is this kind of fear going against the command-ment of God not to fear? No—this is an instinctbuilt into you by God for self-preservation! Heexpects you to react properly, and get out ofdanger’s way if you can.

2) Fear of the consequences of doing wrong—either fear of God or fear of humans in authoritysuch as parents and police. Is this kind of fear

wrong? No. It is very clear in the Bible that aproper fear of God is a good thing. It is evencalled wise: “Fear of the Lord is the foundation oftrue wisdom. All who obey his commandmentswill grow in wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). And theproper fear of the power of some human authori-ties, such as the police, is a good thing: “For theauthorities do not strike fear in people who aredoing right, but in those who are doing wrong.Would you like to live without fear of the authori-ties? Do what is right, and they will honor you.The authorities are God’s servants, sent for yourgood. . .” (Romans 13:3-4). In other words, thesefears are right, wholesome, good, and will protectus from foolish acts.

3) Fear that keeps you from doing what youknow is right and godly. This is the wrong kind offear. God says that if you look to Him as yourprotector and provider, you don’t need to let thiskind of fear stop you from following His way oflife. You can be courageous and brave. For, yousee, courage isn’t “having no fear at all.” A personhigh on drugs can be “fearless,” and do things hewould normally be afraid to do. That doesn’t makehim brave. Someone who has no fear and whodoes reckless things that endanger himself andothers for no good reason isn’t courageous—he isfoolish. Courage is pushing past your fears, actingon faith in God’s promises, and doing the rightthing in frightening situations. If you are willing todo that, God will take the little bit of faith that youacted upon, and help it—and your courage—togrow. A courageous person—a hero—isn’t some-one who has no fear when facing danger to helpothers. A hero is someone with the courage to dothe right thing in spite of his natural fears! And itis the servants of God who have the best reasonfor doing that: “A final word: Be strong in theLord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10).

PrayerFather, Thank you for your promises to take

care of and watch over me so that I can learn tobe courageous. Help me grow in wisdom so that Ican tell the difference between the right andwrong kinds of fear. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Activity

1522

Has anyone suggested that you “count to ten” before you become suddenly angry about asituation and react? The idea is to do something to slow yourself down—before you dosomething you will regret. Maybe counting to ten won’t work. In some situations, you maythink you’d need to count to 1000, because it would take that long to control your tem-per! But if counting doesn’t work for you, think of some things that will work. In the situa-tions below, what do you think your first reaction might be? What might happen if youfollow your first reaction? If that might cause a lot of problems, what might you do insteadto take care of it? Plan how to handle your emotions when problems come so that you willbe able to think clearly.

1. Someone at school carelessly bumps you in the hall and causes you to drop and scatterall the books and things you are carrying.

First reaction: __________________________________________________________________

What might happen?____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Better solution: _________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. You planned to wear a certain item of clothing to a party. You can’t find it in your closet,and discover that a younger brother or sister borrowed it without asking, and left it lyingon their bedroom floor, wrinkled and dirty.

First reaction: __________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Better solution: _________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. Someone you like asks you to go to the movies after school. You are very happy, andrush home to change clothes and get ready. Then your dad informs you that you can’t go,because he needs you to help him finish some repair work on your grandmother’s house.

First reaction: __________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

Better solution: _________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Memory VerseJoshua 1:9 “This is my command—be strong andcourageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. Forthe Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

ScripturesProverbs 3:21-26; 28:1; Joshua 1:9; Ephesians6:10; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:5-6

Words to KnowCOURACOURACOURACOURACOURAGEGEGEGEGE - the determination to take godly actioneven when you feel afraid in a situation

Have you ever been teased and called a“chicken”? This has been a common word onplaygrounds among young children, and in highschool hallways among teens, for a long time. Itusually means that one person is being “dared” todo something that they are afraid to do, and theyare hesitating. The other young people call themnames like chicken, or perhaps “scairdy cat,” or“sissy,” or “wimp” in an attempt to push thefearful person into doing the dreaded action.Among teens, that could be pressuring someoneto pick a fight with the school bully, or get a weirdhaircut or a tattoo, or even teasing a shy studentto ask a popular student for a date.

The implication in this name-calling is that aperson who refuses to do something they havebeen dared to do has no courage, is not “brave”enough, and thus deserves ridicule. There is evenan informal game that some young people getinvolved in that they call “playing chicken.” Two

people agree to do something frightening at thesame time, and the first person to back out oncethey get started is called “chicken” and loses thegame.

Sometimes daring people to do things can be alot more serious than getting a tattoo or picking afight with a bully. A very dangerous version of thegame has been all too common for a long time.Two young people get in cars and drive at highspeed toward one another. The expectation is thatno one will be so stupid as to crash into the otherperson, that before the moment of impact, bothwould be “smart” enough to swerve. The firstperson to give up and swerve is the loser, and theother one is considered much “braver” becausehe held on until the last possible moment. Unfor-tunately, many young people have been seriouslyinjured or killed in car crashes resulting from this“game.” Some people are foolish enough to thinkthat the other person will quit in time to avoid the

Discussion TipsHave you ever wished that you could have the kind of courage that some comic book super heroes seemto have, so that you’d never be afraid of anything again? Is fear always a bad thing? Look in this lessonfor what the Bible says about fear and courage.


16

Activity

21

All teens have temptations in their daily life to give in topeer pressure and do wrong things that they really, in theirheart of hearts, don’t want to do. These temptations won’t beas drastic as the situation with the Israelites described in thislesson. But if you don’t develop the ability to choose to resistthose pressures as a teen, you will find that you will continueto allow others to make decisions for you throughout your life.And the results of such decisions can mess up your life.Solomon wanted his son to avoid this fate: “Wise choices willwatch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdomwill save you from evil people, from those whose words aretwisted. These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure indoing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and theirways are wrong. ... Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of therighteous. For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted”(Proverbs 2:11-15, 20-22).

This passage shows one way to avoid peer pressure to do bad things: surround yourselfas much as possible with other people who share your values. You can encourage oneanother by words and example to stick to your intentions to do what is right. In the ex-amples below, suggest one thing you could say or do to help a friend make the right choiceunder pressure.

Your friend Joe has a really hard time understanding math. His other friends are encourag-ing him to copy their homework so he’ll get a better grade in his math class.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Your friend Briana is running for class president. Her other friends have been digging upgossip about her opponent, Christi, and encouraging her to pass it around so Christi willlook bad.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Erik is supposed to be babysitting for his little sisters while his parents are gone for theevening. His friends are nagging him to have a secret party at his house while his parentsare away.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Memory VersePhilippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters,one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true,and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, andadmirable. Think about things that are excellent andworthy of praise.”

ScripturesProverbs 2:7-11; 19:1; 20:11; Matthew 7:12

Words to KnowINTEGRITYINTEGRITYINTEGRITYINTEGRITYINTEGRITY - sticking firmly to a standard of moralbehavior, even under pressure from others to dowrong thingsHONORABLEHONORABLEHONORABLEHONORABLEHONORABLE - worthy of respectRIGHTEOUSRIGHTEOUSRIGHTEOUSRIGHTEOUSRIGHTEOUS - living life in line with the Laws of God

Steve and Eric were feeling gloomy. For weeksthey had been planning a party to watch theSuper Bowl with friends on the new big screen TVthat Eric’s dad had bought. They had promisedtheir buddies that there would be a great spreadof snacks for the game. But they could only scrapetogether $40 between them. . . not much to feedten hungry teenage boys for six hours. Steve putthe $20 bill and two $10 bills in his wallet, andthey headed to the pizza place to pick up six large$5 pizzas. After that they would head to thegrocery store to pick up as many liters of cheappop as they could afford with the money left overafter paying for the pizza. Steve waited in the carwhile Eric went in to get the pizzas. The pizzaparlor was crowded with lots of impatient custom-ers, and the young woman at the cash registerwas really frazzled. She shoved the boxes of pizza

to Eric, and said “$30 please.” Eric took out twobills and handed them to her, and the next cus-tomer pushed him out of the way as the cashierquickly shoved his money in the register.

As Eric got in the car he was putting his walletaway. He glanced in it and realized his mistake—he’d thought he’d handed the cashier a ten and atwenty. But instead he’d handed her two tens. Inher rush, she hadn’t looked carefully and hadn’tcaught the mistake either. He still had the $20 billin his wallet! “Hey, buddy,” he exclaimed toSteve, “looks like we can afford more snacks thanwe thought. I’ve got an extra $10 now for chipsand dip!” Steve felt a little funny about the situa-tion, but it was too late to do anything about it,right? The game was starting in 25 minutes, theystill had to go to the grocery store to pick up the

Discussion TipsYou’ve probably been at parties where the old “Truth or Dare” game has been played. The “truth” thatyou are dared to tell in the game is often just something embarrassing about yourself. It is, after all, justa silly game. But real life requires you to be a lot more daring when deciding whether to tell the truth,even when it is hard—or even just “inconvenient”—to do so. How daring do you think you would havebeen about telling the truth if you were one of the guys in the following story?


1720

pop, and the crowd would start showing up at thehouse any time now. So they headed out of theparking lot.

The next morning Steve stood in front of hislocker listening to a new girl in school he didn’trecognize talk to a friend about her new job. . . atthe pizza parlor. She’d had a rough first day. “Ijust don’t understand it, Peggy.At the end of the day my cashregister was $10 short. Nowthey are going to take thatout of my first paycheck.And the owner was surelooking funny at me—Ithink he may believe Ideliberately stole the money,thinking that they wouldn’tnotice. I hope I don’t lose thejob over this!”

If you were Steve, how doyou think you would have beenfeeling right then? Sometimespeople think it’s “no big deal” ifthey don’t return something they know isn’trightfully theirs. It’s pretty easy to assume that“the business” such as a grocery store or restau-rant can afford to lose small amounts of money tomistakes. After all, they probably make hundredsof thousands of dollars a year, right? What’s tendollars out of all that? But of course that isn’t thereal issue. The real issue is—what is the honestthing to do? In fact, now Steve has a “truthchoice” to make. Should he try to set the situationright by telling the truth, and risk making Ericangry? The Bible makes it clear that the right thingto do is—the honest thing. In this particular case,the honest thing would be really significant to theyoung woman who might lose her job over thesituation. And in every case, the honest thingreally is significant to God, and to your relation-ship with God:“[God] grants a treasure of common sense to thehonest. He is a shield to those who walk withintegrity. He guards the paths of the just andprotects those who are faithful to him. Then you

will understand what is right, just, and fair, andyou will find the right way to go. For wisdom willenter your heart, and knowledge will fill you withjoy. Wise choices will watch over you. Under-standing will keep you safe” (Proverbs 2:7-11).

Do you want God’s blessing and God’s protec-tion in your life? It’s available to those who truly

serve him with integrity. That means thosewho make the hard choices and stick to doingthe right thing when they are under pressurefrom time, or circumstances, or other people.And if you make those kinds of choices, youwill also find that it isn’t just God who will bepleased with you. You will earn a reputationas an honorable person—a person worthy ofrespect. This comes from making those rightchoices in the big and small decisions of life.It might even seem that many famouspeople, including politicians and entertainers,get away with doing wrong things and don’t

suffer the consequences you might think thatthey should. But it’s one thing to be famous—

it’s another to have a good reputation. Evenpoor people can have a great reputation, while

famous people can be despised and have a rottenreputation if they regularly harm others with theirchoices: “Better to be poor and honest than to bedishonest and a fool” (Proverbs 19:1).

And having that kind of reputation with bothGod and other people comes from starting tomake wise decisions to do the right things, to dothe honest things, to have integrity, at a very earlyage. “Even children are known by the way theyact, whether their conduct is pure, and whether itis right” (Proverbs 20:11).

PrayerFather in Heaven, Thank you for helping me tounderstand the importance of honesty and integ-rity in my life. Sometimes it is hard to make wisechoices when I’m under pressure, but I want todevelop the habit of doing the right thing in everypart of my life no matter what other people say.Amen.

can’t go up against them! They are stronger thanwe are!’ So they spread this bad report about theland among the Israelites: ‘The land we traveledthrough and explored will devour anyone whogoes to live there. All the people we sawwere huge. We even saw giantsthere, the descendants of Anak.Next to them we felt like grass-hoppers, and that’s what theythought, too!’” (vv. 31-33).Their words were so persuasivethat the whole mass of the Israelitesbegan weeping and wailing andwishing that they could go back toEgypt. Only Joshua and Caleb spoke positively oftheir experience. “Two of the men who had ex-plored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb sonof Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to allthe people of Israel, ‘The land we traveledthrough and explored is a wonderful land! And ifthe Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safelyinto that land and give it to us. It is a rich landflowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel againstthe Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of theland. They are only helpless prey to us! They haveno protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t beafraid of them!’” (14:6-9). But their words wereignored—“. . . the whole community began to talkabout stoning Joshua and Caleb” (v. 10).

You’ve probably heard the term “peer pres-sure” before. Maybe you thought it was a specialterm aimed only at teens, and specifically aboutnot letting the habits or words of others your agemake you feel pressured to experiment with drugsor sex, or not nagging your parents to buy youexpensive clothes or shoes of a certain brandname that your family can’t afford, just becauseyou think “everyone else has them.” But thereality is that the story above about the Israelites isabout the problem of peer pressure! Your “peers”are those who have a similar background to youand who live around you. And peer pressure canbe applied regarding any topic. In the case of theIsraelites, the majority of the scouts who broughta bad report used their powers of persuasion toput pressure on their peers to agree with themthat going into the Promised Land was a big

mistake. And within one day this concept literallyswept the whole camp of the Israelites. Virtuallyeveryone “jumped on the band wagon” becausethey perceived that it was the “popular” idea to

have. And they did this in spite of theincredible number of miracles by Godthey had seen in the past, and inspite of His direct command to go

into the land. Can you see the powerthat peer pressure can have?

And when you hear the results, youshould be able to understand howharmful giving in to peer pressure can

be—and how wise resisting it can be. God was soangry with the Israelites that He declared that thewhole generation of adults who rebelled would beforced to wander around in the wilderness for 40years, having no real home. They would die off inthe wilderness. Only their children were allowedto go into the land. Joshua and Caleb resisted thepressure by their peers. They saw the same fright-ening things in the Promised Land. But they urgedeveryone to obey God and believe His promises.Because of this their lives were preserved. Joshuabecame the leader of Israel after Moses died andled the people into the Promised Land. And whenthey finally entered the land, Caleb (85 years oldby then) was still a mighty warrior, and was givena prime inheritance for his faithfulness.

The Bible makes it very clear that our goal inlife should be to become spiritually mature andstrong enough to be able to resist pressure fromany individual or group to go against what weknow to be right and godly. It is not easy when weare young and learning to “stand on our own twofeet” to make the right decisions and choices. Butif we stay close to God through prayer and studyof His word, He will help us grow in that strength.

PrayerThank you, Heavenly Father, for all your blessingsin my life, and the promises in the Bible. I knowthat living by your commandments is best for me.Help me to resist pressure from others to goagainst what I know is right. In Jesus’ name.Amen.

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that istaught in the law and the prophets.” This saying by Jesus in Matthew 7:12 has been calledthe “Golden Rule” because it is such an important principle. In each of the situations below,explain what you’d like the other person to do to you, and why.

1. You’ve been really struggling to get your grade up to a B in math class, and have beenstudying hard every night for the big mid-term test. When the teacher returns the gradedexams later in the week, you see that you still just got a C. What you don’t know is that lastnight she suddenly realized that she garbled the answer sheet for the test. If she went backand graded the tests again, many more of your answers would have been graded as correct.You would have gotten a B+. But she’s already returned the tests to the students! Shewould have to make up a totally new test, and give it to all her classes again. But she’s got abad cold, is exhausted from overwork, and is having arguments with her boyfriend thatleave her depressed. She’s tempted to just act like nothing happened. After all, it’s just onetest for some kids in eighth grade. It won’t really affect their future or anything serious!What do you think she should do, and why?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. You brought an envelope to school this morning with $10 in it to pay for a week’s worthof school lunches. Now it’s lunch time, and you can’t find it anywhere. What you don’trealize is that you dropped it on the floor in the locker room while changing into your gymclothes, and someone came along and dumped a towel on it so you didn’t see it. Later,someone else picked up the towel to get it out of the way to open a locker door, spied theenvelope, and could see through the thin paper that it had some money in it. There was noname on the envelope, so they figured no one could prove who it belonged to if they turnedit in at the office. So they are very tempted to just pocket the money and throw out theenvelope. What do you think they should do, and why?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity

18 19

Memory VerseExodus 23:2 “You must not follow the crowd indoing wrong. When you are called to testify in adispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twistjustice.”

ScripturesProverbs 2:11-22; 4:14-16; 22:24-25;Exodus 23:2

Words to KnowPEER PRESSURE PEER PRESSURE PEER PRESSURE PEER PRESSURE PEER PRESSURE - the feeling that you need to goalong with the actions of others in your socialgroup (your “peers”), even when you believe it’swrong

The Israelites were set free from Egyptian bond-age by the mighty hand of God. He had donemany miracles to rescue them from slavery, andhad parted the Red Sea to let them escape theEgyptians who tried to follow and force them toreturn to Egypt to be enslaved again. God tookcare of them in the wilderness for a year, provid-ing food and water for perhaps multiple millionstraveling together. They had heard God’s voicethunder the Ten Commandments. Moses hadbrought them detailed instructions from Godabout exactly how their new nation should func-tion, and how each one should conduct himself indaily life to receive the Lord’s blessings. And nowhere they were, at the edge of the wonderful“Promised Land”! God had said it was a land“flowing with milk and honey”—meaning thatthey would be prosperous there and enjoy anabundant life. And He promised to help themmake it their own, by driving out the evil tribesthat had been living there. After experiencing thepower of God over and over, they certainly should

have been confident that He could deliver on Hispromise that they would conquer the land.

In Numbers 13 Moses instructs 12 men toexplore the land and report on it: “See what theland is like, and find out whether the people livingthere are strong or weak, few or many. See whatkind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Dotheir towns have walls, or are they unprotectedlike open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Arethere many trees? Do your best to bring backsamples of the crops you see” (vv. 18-20). Andthey did indeed bring back a report that it was anabundant land, with the evidence of a singlebunch of grapes so huge that it took two men tocarry it hanging on a pole between them. But tenof the men who were sent also reported the badnews that the people in the land were so powerfulthat it would be impossible to defeat them. Theyexaggerated the number and size of the few giantmen (related to the giant, Goliath, whom Davidwould eventually kill) they had seen. “. . . ‘We

Discussion TipsIs “everyone is doing it” a good reason for you to do something? Who is in charge of your choices—you, or “everyone”?


CCCCC

Youth Educational Adventures

Documents

Transcript of Youth Educational Adventures