Human Responses
Week 79
We respond to the sense of right or wrong
A precious part of our humanity is that we become aware, we recognize (or are affected) and we respond to the world around us. Through our senses, we touch, smell, taste, hear, and move responding to what’s around us in a variety of ways. God has endowed us with the ability to respond in ways that are well beyond any animal. Animals typically do not exhibit any responses to what they see, hear, touch, and taste outside the realm of their survival. We, of course, have many responses to the world around us.
Point to emphasize
We feel bad when we have done something wrong, and we feel good when we do the right thing.
Sample verse
Learn to do good. (Isaiah 1:17a)
Sample content and conversation with children
- Today, we are going to talk about how God made us in a very special way. We can know right and wrong, which means we feel bad when we do something that we should not do and we feel good when we do the right thing.
- Let’s look at this. [Show video #1.] What was the little girl doing? [Let them respond.] Why was she looking around? [Children should discover that she was taking a block that was not hers and hiding it so she could take it home. She wanted to make sure no one saw her do it.] Why was she hiding it? [Let them respond. Lead them to discover that she knew she was doing something wrong so she was hiding it. The main point is that she knew it was wrong.] So, she was hiding the block because she knew it was wrong to take it. Now, do you think that she would be looking around while taking the block and hiding it if it was her block? [Let them respond. Lead them to discover that we feel fine when we do what is right.]
- Now, here is something a little different. [Show video #2.] What happened here? [Let children respond.] Why did she hide the lollipop? [Let them respond.] Yes, she knew it was wrong to have the lollipop. Why did she lie to her mom and say “nothing”? [Let them respond.] That is right. She knew she had done something wrong and felt bad. She did not want her mom to know that she had done something wrong. BUT, did she look happy when she lied to her mom? [Let them respond.] NO, she was feeling bad inside so she could not smile. What kind of a face would the girl have if her mom had given her a treat to eat on the way home? [Let them respond.] Yes, she would have been happy and eaten it without hiding and lying.
- [Show video #3 and have the same kind of discussion. Lead them to discover that the little girl was hiding the candy from her mom because she had been wrong to take it. She felt bad so she tried to hide it.] What should we do when we do something wrong? [Let them respond.] We should not hide it. We feel so good when we tell mommy we are sorry.
- God made us so that we feel bad when we have done something wrong, and we feel good when we do the right thing.
- But animals are not like us. They do not feel bad inside when they do something wrong like taking food off the table. A dog might eat food off the table because it is hungry [Reference picture #1.] The dog does not think about whether what it is doing is right or wrong. Dogs just eat because they are hungry. Dogs feel bad only when we scold them or catch them taking food off the table and we yell at them.
- We were created in such a special way! We are different from the dogs. We know what is right and wrong. We feel bad about doing something wrong even BEFORE we get corrected or caught by our parents. Also, we feel good when we do things that we are supposed to do (e.g. like obey our parents, etc.) We feel happy inside when we do the right thing, like putting our toys away when mommy says so.
- God made us so wonderfully!
Songs
God, our God
I’m Gonna Stand Up, Sit Down:
Suggested activities
- Follow the Leader: One person is the leader and everyone else has to imitate the leader’s movements (e.g. rubbing belly, clapping hands, spinning in a circle, etc.). Each child can take a turn being the leader. If playing in-person in a group, all those who lag behind the leader’s motions are out of the game and the last person standing becomes the new leader.
- Simon Says
- Red Light, Green light
- Freeze: The children all sing a song (with motions) and when the guitar stops, everyone needs to freeze
Videos
#1: Little child hiding block
(https://www.youtube.com/embed/wRhPfshqJSE?rel=0)
#2: Child hiding lollipop
(https://www.youtube.com/embed/4F4qNhMBxO0?rel=0)
#3: Little child hiding candy
(https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHeiznMBnaA?rel=0)
Pictures
#1: Dog looking at food on the table
