I recently gave a talk to children about Christ’s Command to Love our Neighbour.
I wrote the following skit to help get some points over and it went really well. My son Isaac, and his friend Angus did a great job with this and the kids and grown ups laughed a lot.
So I’m sharing this for others to use if they want to….
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR SKIT
Storyline: A character called Sam Arratan has just become a Christian and needs to learn to love his neighbour and thus be a Good Sam Arratan.
Man: Hello, are you Mr Arratan.
Sam: Yes, I’m Sam. I’m Sam Arratan.
Man: Nice to meet you, Sam. I hear you just became a Christian.
Sam: Yes. Now Jesus is Lord of my life.
Man: That’s wonderful. So that means He gets to tell you what to do. If you don’t do what He says, then He isn’t really LORD, is He?
Sam: OK, I’m ready for my first instruction from Christ, since I have just made Him Lord of my life. What is it?
Man: (Opens Bible and reads) “Love Your Neighbour just the same way you love yourself!”
Sam: What? I can’t do that. My neighbours are mean and nasty.
Man: Well, Christ’s command is to Love your Neighbour, so that’s what you have to do, no matter what your neighbours are like.
Sam: I think I’ll move to some place where I don’t have any neighbours.
Man: No, you will always have many neighbours.
Sam: Not if I move to the country and live on a huge farm in the middle of the desert. Or maybe I could live on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean. Hmmm, or maybe I could live on the Moon.
Man: You are Exasperating!
Sam: No, I’m Sam. Sam Arratan!
Man: Well, Sam, Neighbours are not just the people who live next door to you, but all the people you meet.
Sam: OK, I’ll become a monk and I’ll live away from everyone. I’ll live on top of a pole in the desert! That’s what Saint Simeon did over 1,000 years ago.
Man: But, you’re missing something. God never asks us to do something without giving us the ability to do His will.
Sam: So God can give me the ability to love my neighbours?
Man: Of course He can, if you ask Him.
Sam: So, how am I supposed to love people who I don’t like?
Man: Well, firstly let’s discover what real LOVE is. It’s when you want what is best for someone else, no matter how hard it is for you to give it to them.
Sam: So, I have to want what is BEST for them, even if it makes things hard for me?
Man: Yes.
Sam: Like, when I want them to get their broken window fixed, but I don’t want them to know it was me who hit the ball?
Man: Yes. Or when you help them, when you’d rather be off playing with your friends or just reading a book.
Sam: That’s going to be hard.
Man: If God is helping you, it really will be quite easy and it will bring you great blessing as well.
Sam: But how many hours each Sunday do I have to do this?
Man: Oh, you don’t just do it on Sundays. You do it every day of the week.
Sam: Mornings or afternoons?
Man: All day.
Sam: So after the sun goes down I can forget about it.
Man: No, it’s ALL day, including the night.
Sam: Like 24/7?
Man: Yes, 24/7.
Sam: So, when I get to 24 I’ll help 7 people?
Man: No, silly. You have to love your neighbour 24 hours every day, 7 days a week.
Sam: What about a Leap Week?
Man: There’s no such thing as a Leap Week.
Sam: Oh. I was just hoping.
Man: You are SO exasperating.
Sam: No, I’m Sam. Sam Arratan!
Man: Well, Sam, Any time your neighbour has a need, you would help them if you love them.
Sam: Well, that pretty girl down the street, I could love her.
Man: No. Love isn’t that nice feeling you feel toward a pretty girl. It’s when you make a choice to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Feelings don’t come into it.
Sam: I think they do. If I was raking the grass for my nasty neighbour, I’d sure have some FEELINGS about that.
Man: Then you’ll have to die to those feelings.
Sam: Now you want me DEAD!
Man: No, it’s an expression. It means you have to give up those feelings and do what Christ asks you, no matter how hard it seems to be.
Sam: Do you know where I can get a pole?
Man: Oh, you’re just SO EXASPERATING.
Sam: No, I’m Sam. Sam Arratan.
Man: Well, Mr Sam Arratan, I want to make you into a Good Sam Arratan!
Sam: A Good Samaritan! Hey I know that story. It’s about a man who helped some poor sucker who got bashed up.
Man: Yes, he wanted the best for the injured man, even though it cost him time and money. He put the injured man on his donkey and took him to the inn.
Sam: Do you really want me to become a Good Sam Arratan?
Man: Yes.
Sam: OK, where can I get a donkey?
Man: Oh, you’re SO EXASPERATING.
Sam: No, I’m Sam. My name’s Sam …
Man: ARRATAN. Yes, I know.
Sam: So, I really have to love my neighbour, do I?
Man: Well, it’s not my idea. That’s what Christ Himself commands us to do.
Sam: Well have you ever had to love your neighbour?
Man: Do you mean, have I ever had to want the best for someone?
Sam: Yes.
Man: Someone who is stupid and who really needs a lot of help.
Sam: Well, yes.
Man: (glares at him) What do you think I’m doing right now?
Sam: So, you love me?
Man: I’m trying to.
(discussion continues as they move toward the exit)
Sam: Is it my hair? Or my good looks? Maybe it’s my muscles? I’m pretty intelligent too. I was top of my class in pre-school.
Man: Oh, you’re SO EXASPERATING!
Sam: No, I’m SAM. SAM ARRATAN. (exit)