The 100% Club
Whose approval is important? Liz finds out when he’s invited to join the most exclusive club in school.
Before You ListenLet's Get Started
Theme: Doing our best.
1. Ephesians 6:6 says that we should work as though we are working for Jesus Christ. How is the work we do on earth the same as working for Christ?
2. In Galatians 2:11-14, we read about a time when the apostle Peter was more concerned with pleasing people than with pleasing God. Earlier, God had chosen him to show that Gentiles (those who aren’t Jewish) can be saved (Acts 10:27-29). Peter visited the city of Antioch and was eating meals with Gentile Christians. But then some of his Jewish friends came and asked him what he was doing. Peter decided to please his friends and stopped eating with the Gentiles. He was more worried about what his fellow Jews thought than he was about what God had told him. Finally, the apostle Paul had to talk to Peter and remind him that he what he was doing was wrong. As you listen to this episode, think about how important it is to live for God instead of trying to please other people.
After you listen
Memory Verse
“[Work hard] not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart”
Quiz
Reflect
In this episode, Liz learns that working to please other people isn’t rewarding. Instead, he should do everything to please the Lord.
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus explains that a person cannot be devoted to God and devoted to making money at the same time. He calls this serving two masters. You can’t obey two different bosses at once, because they’ll be telling you to do different things. The same principle applies when it comes to pleasing God or pleasing people. If you’re trying to gain the approval of others, you won’t be working to please God. But here’s the thing—if you work to please God, you will also be doing the best possible thing for others too. It all comes down to what is more important—doing what God wants, or being popular.
Want to dig deeper and learn about the importance of pleasing God and not others? Check out Proverbs 16:7, Galatians 1:10, and 1 Thessalonians 2:4.
Challenge
Draw a cartoon about trying to please two masters at once. Show yourself doing something to gain approval from other kids. Then show yourself in the same situation, but this time doing what you know God would want you to do. For example: Your friends are trying to talk you into hanging out on a school night instead of studying for an important quiz. Post the cartoon on the front of a school notebook or somewhere you can see it to remind you to work to please God and not others.
