Eighth Commandment

Published on March 08, 2010 by GEPC Staff

• God is the one who gives each person the right to own and to keep his own property.
• Stealing is taking someone else's property without permission.
• Most kids have a basic understanding of "Mine" and "Not Mine".
• When people steal things, they usually think it's no big deal if they never get caught. But when we steal, God always knows and so do we, that we've done something wrong.
  
• Let us pray that we will always avoid the temptation to steal and instead, make good choices about how we treat other people's property.

• Choose a large room or go outdoors for this activity. You'll be playing "steal the bacon."
• Have everyone sit in a large circle surrounding a bandana in the center. Explain the object of the game:
• • Try to be the person who grabs the bandana and returns to is or her seat without being tagged by the other person.
    
  • Call out the names of two family members at a time and say "go" to start a round. The person who grabs the bandana and gets back to the seat without being tagged will receive one point. Play a number of rounds until everyone is tired and out of breath.
    
• What is the object of the game? (steal the bandana and to not get caught)
• What did it feel like when you got caught? (I was disappointed, felt bad.)
• Share: Prisons today are filled with people who tried stealing something and got caught. Unlike this game, the consequences of getting caught were quite severe. For every sin, there is a punishment or a price to pay. In our game, if you got caught, you lost the game. However, in real life, that's not the case.
  

• Take a few moments to talk with your children about your experiences with stealing. This could simply be a temptation you once felt when you were younger; a story of a time when your house was burglarized; or any other example from your life or the lives around you.
• Allow time for children to confess their sins (silently or aloud) and ask for forgiveness if they've stolen anything. Use this time to show how God's forgiveness can help us when we mess up. You may want to help you children come up with a plan for resolving the situation if they've stolen.