*Based on Luke 3:1-18
When I go to visit with kids during their school lunch times, they always love to play the “Would You Rather Game.” I have a hundred questions, all posing a hypothetical choice you have to make between two scenarios. Some of these are funny. Some are silly daily choices. Some are tragic. Some are just absurd. Some really make you think for a minute.
The rules are simple:
· You must select one option or the other;
· You can’t say both / you can’t say neither.
· And then you must give an explanation as to why you chose what you did.
So I would say, “Pick a number between 1 and 100”. I would then read the corresponding question. Only for the child who selected that number gets to answer that question (you can pass your question to the next person, but you lose your turn). If you selected number 99, your question would be “Would you rather win $100,000 or earn $10,000,000?”
If I asked you that question what would you choose? Think about it for a minute. I always tell the kids that the best answer is based on the best explanation. I have had different kids answer that question both ways with excellent answers to support. One second grader blew me away though with his answer. “I would choose to win the $100,000. To earn the $10 million would require more time away from my family than I would be willing to give up.” Wow!
Everyday in Christian life we are faced with a ‘would you rather’. Our question is this: “Would you rather protect your character or your reputation?”
It is plain by looking at the life of John the Baptist, that he was not as concerned about looking respectable as he was proclaiming the truth of Christ. Many respectable people thought of John as a lunatic. He lived in the desert, he ate locust, and he wore camel hair. In Luke chapter 3, John told others about Jesus and ignored what others said about him.
Where are Christians today at risk of choosing reputation over character? Picture yourself at the lunch table with God. What goes through your mind as He is reading your question: “When it comes to telling others about Jesus, would you rather protect your character or your reputation?”
When I go to visit with kids during their school lunch times, they always love to play the “Would You Rather Game.” I have a hundred questions, all posing a hypothetical choice you have to make between two scenarios. Some of these are funny. Some are silly daily choices. Some are tragic. Some are just absurd. Some really make you think for a minute.
The rules are simple:
· You must select one option or the other;
· You can’t say both / you can’t say neither.
· And then you must give an explanation as to why you chose what you did.
So I would say, “Pick a number between 1 and 100”. I would then read the corresponding question. Only for the child who selected that number gets to answer that question (you can pass your question to the next person, but you lose your turn). If you selected number 99, your question would be “Would you rather win $100,000 or earn $10,000,000?”
If I asked you that question what would you choose? Think about it for a minute. I always tell the kids that the best answer is based on the best explanation. I have had different kids answer that question both ways with excellent answers to support. One second grader blew me away though with his answer. “I would choose to win the $100,000. To earn the $10 million would require more time away from my family than I would be willing to give up.” Wow!
Everyday in Christian life we are faced with a ‘would you rather’. Our question is this: “Would you rather protect your character or your reputation?”
It is plain by looking at the life of John the Baptist, that he was not as concerned about looking respectable as he was proclaiming the truth of Christ. Many respectable people thought of John as a lunatic. He lived in the desert, he ate locust, and he wore camel hair. In Luke chapter 3, John told others about Jesus and ignored what others said about him.Where are Christians today at risk of choosing reputation over character? Picture yourself at the lunch table with God. What goes through your mind as He is reading your question: “When it comes to telling others about Jesus, would you rather protect your character or your reputation?”
Posts
