Nope, not the ones I teach, but the ones I learn while I'm teaching.
Last week we finished our book-by-book study of the entire Bible, so we decided to play review games this last Sunday before moving on. I was assigned the Old Testament and planned a "20 Questions" type game. Each team was assigned an OT character and instructed to keep it a secret. Other teams asked questions about the character to try and figure out who it was, but the answers could only be yes, no, or I don't know. The first group was a little slow...but that was a piece of cake compared to what followed. The second group was assigned Moses, and the other teams figured it out pretty quickly - although the trail of questions really didn't seem to lead to Moses in any way.
I was starting to grow a little bit suspicious, but in the absence of any good options, I kept the game going. Until the next group got up. The very first question was "Is it Job?" Okay, Job is a pretty major character in the Old Testament. But I'm guessing that wouldn't be anyone's first guess. Maybe Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. But Job? Not likely. Besides, the kids' faces and behind-the-hand giggles kind of gave it away. Obviously, someone(s) had leaked the answers.
At this point, continuing the game was pointless, especially since the teens weren't even attempting to keep the charade going anymore. But, as a teacher, what do you do then? Sit down with your tail tucked between your legs & let the guy assigned to review the NT take over? Ummm, no...not in my class, anyway.
So, after sending up a quick "Help! I'm drowning!" prayer, I thanked them for illustrating so well much of the "plot" of the Old Testament. God gave His people instructions, and they didn't follow them - so life just didn't work out the way it was designed to. Adam and Eve broke God's law, and death resulted. Moses didn't follow God's instructions, and he never entered the Promised Land. Israel repeatedly broke God's law, and they suffered the consequences through captivity. Sure, they were still God's chosen people...but they often missed out on the benefits of being God's people because they didn't follow His instructions.
Thankfully, the teens didn't miss out anything important by not following my instructions...just a little bit of fun and some candy bars I had bought for the winning team (how do you choose a winner when they all cheat?). And, hopefully, they walked away having learned an important lesson. Not the one I had planned to teach. But the one that He had planned for me to teach!
No comments:
Post a Comment