Jealousy

OBJECTIVE

Love between friends and siblings should not include jealousy or envy. When we are jealous of others, we are not being thankful for the blessings we have in our own life. Jealousy can also lead to anger which can hurt other people and our relationships. God mentions jealousy in the 10th commandment, when He asks us not to covet. When we break one of His commandments, we commit sin, which hurts our relationship with God and separates us from Him. Sometimes, when we think of God's rules for us, we don't like it, because they can be hard. But, we should be thankful for God's rules because He loves us enough to lead us. If you don't love someone, then you don't care what they do, but if you love someone, you want what is best for them. We should be thankful for God's rules because He loves us enough to lead us. In addition, God wants us to go even further by being happy for the blessings that He chooses to give others.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Bring a cupcake to class and give it to only one of the students in the class. Let everyone react for a few minutes as you refuse to give any cupcakes to anyone else. Then ask the class to discuss how it made them feel to watch only one person get that cupcake and not them.

Does anyone know what jealousy means? It is wanting something that someone else has. We often feel jealous over many different things like when your brother or sister gets a gift and you wish that it was yours. Maybe you have felt jealous, over a classmate who earned a good grade on a test, because your grade wasn't as high. Maybe you visited someone with a really nice house and you wished it was your house. These are all examples of jealousy, and in the lesson today, you will learn about a brother who was jealous of his younger brother and how that led him to do something very wrong.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Read Genesis 4:1-18

Memory Verse - "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy." (1 Corinthians 13:4)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes

After God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, Eve gave birth to two sons. The older son was named Cain and the younger son was named Abel.When they grew up, Cain became a farmer and worked the land while Abel became a shepherd, taking care of sheep.

One day, Cain brought some of the fruit or vegetables that were growing on his farm to give to God as an offering. Abel also brought an offering to God which included the best new lambs of his flock. God was not happy with the offering that Cain brought, but God was happy with Abel's offering.

  • Why do you think God liked Abel's offering of the lamb, but did not like Cain's offering of the fruits and vegetables?

Cain did not follow what he was taught to be an acceptable offering to God and chose to do things his own way. On the other hand, Abel brought God the best of his animals.

Genesis 4:4 - "Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat."

Being a shepherd, Abel really loved the lambs that he had sacrificed and shedding their blood was probably hard for him. God respected Abel's offering because he gave God his best and God always deserves the best from us. Cain became very angry and jealous that God accepted Abel's offering but not his.

Genesis 4:6 - So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?"

Cain would not listen to God and do what was right. Instead, he went on a walk with his brother in the field and out of anger and jealousy, he attacked and killed his brother, and tried to hide his sin.

Genesis 4:9 - Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?"

Of course God already knew what Cain had done because he is omniscient (which means He knows everything). But, God was giving Cain a chance to confess his sin and to say he was sorry for what he had done.

Genesis 4:10 - He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Cain lied to God thinking nobody saw what he did, but God saw it. God wants us to love our neighbor and of course care for and be responsible for the safety of our family. God punished Cain by making him leave his home and go live somewhere else away from his family. God also said that the ground will not grow any more food for Cain so he could no longer be a farmer.

Cain became afraid because he was worried that someone would try to hurt him as punishment for what he did to his brother. He was not sorry for his sin, he was only worried about himself. God showed mercy on Cain by putting a mark on him to protect him from others who tried to harm him.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

  • Should we ever get so jealous of a friend or sibling that it would cause us to hurt them?
  • Why did God ask Cain where his brother was if He already knew?
  • What would have been a better choice for Cain?
  • Remind the students that even though Cain sinned and was jealous of Abel, God still loved him, but Cain still had to be punished. Sometimes our parents punish us when we do something wrong so that we learn from it, but of course they still love us.
  • How can we overcome jealousy?
  • What story did we learn about a couple weeks ago that was also a good example of jealousy? (Saul was jealous of David and Jonathan was not)
  • Do you know any other stories in the bible that involve jealousy? (Joseph and his brothers)

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

Explain to the students that we should be happy for those who have good things happen to them. For example, we should be happy for the student who got the cupcake earlier. Remind them that when we are not happy for others, we are acting jealous like Cain, which does not make God happy. Pull out the rest of the cupcakes and ask the student who received the cupcake earlier if we should share the cupcakes with the rest of the class. As you pass them out, remind them that when we are happy for others, they will be able to share their happiness with us

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

This activity is a demonstration of the consequences of anger and jealousy.

Materials**:**

Cookie sheet, a cup of vinegar (with a few drops of red food coloring in it, stirred), baking soda (2-3 tsp), small cup (with an angry face drawn on it with a sharpie), Lego people

  1. Show the children the cup with the baking soda in it and an angry face drawn on it, explaining that it resembles Cain. Then, place it on the cookie sheet.
  2. Cain's emotions of jealousy and anger became violent and he was filled with hatred for his brother. When we choose to sin, it bubbles out of us and hurts others around us. Put the Lego people around the cup.
  3. Add the red vinegar (red makes us think of anger) to the cup of baking soda and watch how the "sin" takes out the Lego guys. The mixture will bubble up and knock down the Lego people.

God gives us second chances to do what is right and fix our behavior. God gave Cain a chance to do better too and to have his sacrifice accepted. All he had to do was to say sorry and sacrifice a lamb to correct his mistake and he would have been forgiven.

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Tell parents to reinforce the lesson by finding a children's story book that teaches a lesson about jealousy or envy and have them read it to them.

For example: "What to Do When It's Not Fair: A Kid's Guide to Handling Envy and Jealousy" by Claire Freeland and Jacqueline Toner.