Be Ye Kind One to Another
Mooster: Hey everyone! I have a quick Bible lesson for you this morning, but I want to share it with Monkey Moe. Has anyone seen him this morning?
Moe: (playing around the edges and peeking through the windows – while…)
Mooster is calling: MOE!! Monkey Moe! Are you home in the tree house this morning? Does anyone see Moe? (Kids will probably laugh and say “there he is” a few times.) Hey Moe, come on out – I want you to hear the Bible lesson.
Moe: (appears in his window) Okay, okay. I was just monkeying around. What’s the lesson?
Mooster: Have you ever heard of the Golden Rule?
Moe: Sure – that’s the one that says, “Get all the bananas you can while the getting’s good.”
Mooster: NO no no – that’s not right!
Moe: Oh…um…”Treat every monkey like your personal slave and you shall be happy?”
Mooster: No no no!
Moe: Oh wait…this is a Bible lesson, so there must be a verse…”Be ye kind to me so I can be happy.”
Mooster: No! Now let me talk. The Golden Rule isn’t a Bible verse, but it’s based on Biblical ideals. It states that we should treat others as we would have them treat us.
Moe: Oh. Well….I guess I wouldn’t want someone treating me like a personal slave.
Mooster: I guess not! The verse that you need to memorize is Ephesians 4:32: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Moe: What? That doesn’t sound right. I have to forgive people when they treat me badly?
Mooster: That’s right. That Bible verse is telling us that we should be kind to each other.
Moe: You mean I can’t shoot my brother in the seat of his pants with my BB gun?
Mooster: That’s right.
Moe: And I can’t pull my sister’s hair?
Mooster: Yup.
Moe: And I can’t play with someone else’s toys, break them, and then say it wasn’t me?
Mooster: Moe! You do that?
Moe: Well…only once….or twice…or maybe I lost count…
Mooster: Well, no, you can’t do that.
Moe: Well that whole attitude would sure change my life.
Mooster: I’m sure it would! It also says you should be tenderhearted toward others.
Moe: Is that anything like tender-footed? I really hate walking on rocks because they hurt my toes and sometimes there’s sharp pokey pine cone pieces in there and they really hurt and then sometimes……
Mooster: (interrupts) MOE! It has nothing to do with toes! It means you should be thinking of others, and being kind toward them, and helping them, and doing nice things for them.
Moe: Ohhhh…..
Mooster: And don’t forget the forgiving part. Like last week when your little brother broke your toy train and you wouldn’t speak to him for three days, that was mean. He was sorry and asked you to forgive him but you ignored him. That was very wrong. Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Moe: Oh. So since God forgives our sins when we ask Him to, because of Christ, we are to forgive others when they do wrong against us.
Mooster: That’s right! Now you have it! And, I think our songleader can help us remember that verse. Mr. Songleader, can you help us all sing “Be Ye Kind”?
(Everyone sings)
Mooster: So what do you think, Moe? Do you think you can be kind this week? Do you think you can do to others as you would want them to do to you?
Moe: Well, I can certainly try. I do want to please Jesus, even though I’m not always a good monkey. I will memorize Ephesians 4:32 this week and I will pray and ask God to help me treat those around me with kindness. And I’ll even forgive my little brother the next time he breaks something. Even though that will be hard!
Mooster: Yes, it is hard to forgive sometimes. But if we remember that God forgives us over and over and over because of the great sacrifice of love that Christ made for us, it will become easier and easier for us to forgive others as well.
Moe: Okay Moe! I’ll work on it this week!
Mooster: Okay everyone – can you work with Moe and try to be kind this week? Make sure you treat those around you with the same love and patience that you expect to be given. See you next week! Bye!
Moe: Bye!
