THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever stolen anything? What did you do with it?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 9:14-17. 14She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, 15calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 16"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks sense she says, 17"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
Do you remember who the "she" is in verse 14? That's right, it's Miss Folly, and she is calling out to the simple to come to her feast at her house. The problem is that everything at her feast is stolen. Stolen from Wisdom and from God. But now it can only be eaten in secret, rather than being really enjoyed.
Have you ever stolen anything, or cheated in school? Stealing and cheating can feel good in the moment and they can give you what you want, but then, like Solomon says, you have to eat it in secret. If you steal you have to hide what you stole. If you cheat, you have to keep the secret that you don't really know how to do the work. This is what the fool does. They want the good things from God but they want to steal them from someone else and use them in the wrong way.
Here's another example: have you ever laughed at someone in a mean way? Laughter is a good gift from God isn't it. But the fool has to steal laughter and then use it in a bad way – laughing at others' misfortune or mistakes, often in secret. There's all kinds of ways that the fool can steal something that God made and use it in the wrong way. Can you think of any others?
Knowing and trusting Jesus makes it so that we don't ever have to steal from God or his wisdom. Why not? Because Jesus shares everything with us. If you cheat in order to feel good about yourself, Jesus says "I already feel good about you, trust me." If you laugh at others in order to be accepted, Jesus says, "I accept you, trust me." With Jesus we never have to hide or live in secret. We can live openly in front of others, even when we fail or sin, because Jesus loves us no matter what.
Because of Jesus we never have to live in secret.
With Jesus we don't have to steal from God, because he shares everything.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Memorize John 3:16 together. God GAVE, so we never have to steal.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, I trust you that you give me exactly what I need when I need it. Amen.
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