The Peanut Butter & Jelly Skit
God Is The Judge; Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Set Up: Choose three children to act out the following skit. Print the skit and highlight their parts. Give them each a lunch bag. If possible, give the actors time to practice before class. (Three adults could act out the skit for a more humorous approach.)
Cindy: I'm so glad it's lunch time. I didn't eat any breakfast. I'm really hungry!
Mindy: Me too. Let's race to the lunch room.
Josh: Hey wait for me!
Cindy: My mom made my favorite sandwich today.
Josh: What's that?
Cindy: Peanut Butter & Jelly! Yum! (Opens lunch bag) Hey! Someone took my sandwich! Hmmm, I think I know who did it!
Mindy: Who?
Cindy: I saw Barbara messing around with the lunch bags earlier this morning. I bet she took it! That thief!
I'm telling on her!
Josh: Wait a minute, Cindy. Before you go accusing her, you should know if she took it. Maybe your mom forgot to pack it.
Cindy: No way! My mom wouldn't do that! I just know Barbara did it! She's always doing things that are wrong!
Josh: Wow, that's mean! It's not like you're perfect, ya know. You've done things that are wrong too.
Remember last week you cheated on your math test? And the teacher thought I was helping you cheat? I forgave you for getting me into trouble.
Didn't I?
Cindy: Oh, what do you know? I think Barbara did it and I'm gonna tell on her! (Stomps off)
Mindy: Wow, I don't understand why Cindy is acting like this.
Josh: Me either. It's weird. Let's go eat! -- THE END.
Discussion
We don't know if Barbara stole Cindy's sandwich, but what do you think Cindy should have done?
Have you ever had a speck of dirt in your eye? It hurts and you can't see until it is removed. But what if you had something larger than a speck of dirt in your eye? It would be very painful and blinding. Jesus told a story about someone having a speck of dirt in his eye.
Let's read it and see if you can understand what Jesus wanted us to understand.
Read Matthew 7:1-5 from a child-friendly Bible or tell it in your own words.
Jesus told this story to teach us that we must remove the sins in our lives before we point out the sins of others. In our skit, if Cindy had been more concerned about correcting her own faults, then maybe she
wouldn't have been so ready to blame Barbara for stealing.
It is important that we never point out someone's sinfulness to show that we are better than they are. Jesus says to remove the plank or log from our eyes, so we can see clearly enough to remove the speck from someone
else's eye. This means we are to take care of our own sins, by confessing them to God, before we think about other people's failures to do what's right. The purpose of pointing out someone
else's sin is to help him or her to grow closer to God, but it is not for the purpose of judging. If
you're concerned with ridding your life of sinfulness, taking care of the "logs" in your life, then you will not have time to think about the sins, those "specks," in other
people's lives. When we understand and believe that Jesus has forgiven us of all the wrong things
we've done, our sins, we must do the same for others. And remember, only God has the right to judge sin.
Memory Verse: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" Matthew 7:1.
Get the rest of this lesson when you purchase Tell Me The Story of
Jesus, a two-semester lesson series on the life of Jesus, from childhood to Pentecost.
Copyright 2004 Sarah A. Keith
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