​Tootsie Roll Pops
(Original Sin)
(Sin)
 
Genesis 3:1-24
 
The Basic Bible Truth
 
Sin entered into the human race in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned.  But we dare not blame them for our struggles.  The truth is, if we had been there, we would have most likely made the same mistake.
 
The Object
 
Tootsie Roll Pops (Enough For Everybody)
A Container To Hold Them In
4 Various Types Of Finger Snacks

I begin this lesson by talking about communication skills, and how important it is that we communicate clearly with each other to eliminate misunderstandings.  To help explain this, I have a plate full of Tootsie Roll Pops and 4 different snack foods.  I then have three volunteers leave the room.  They will be brought back in, one at a time.  I explain to a 4th volunteer that they are to be seated at the table where all of the goodies are located, and I give that person a set of very simple rules.  1.  They are under absolutely no circumstances to eat the Tootsie Roll Pops.  They are forbidden and not to be eaten, EVER.  Anything else on the table is theirs to enjoy, but not the Tootsie Roll Pops!  I make a really big deal out of the idea that there is NO circumstance that I can possibly think of that would allow anyone to eat a Tootsie Roll Pop.  2.  Their job is to enjoy the snacks and make sure that the next person coming in understands the rules and that the next person also has the responsibility to share this information with the person following them, and so on.  Everyone else hears the rules because they will be judging how well the information will be communicated by our volunteers.
 
We bring in all of the volunteers, one at a time, and we listen to the communication as the rules are handed down.  When the demonstration is finished, everyone sits back at their seat and we begin critiquing the communication skills and talking about the rest of the lesson. 
 
Very soon into this portion, I will have prearranged someone to come in and ask to talk with me outside, or I will take a phone call, and in a rushed, serious hurry, come back in and apologize for my having to leave, but I have something I need to take care of immediately. I will appoint some one (who is in on the entire thing) to take over the remainder of class, and a third person (who also knows what is going on) to clean up my demonstration and put it all away.  We are done with it.  The idea here is to trick everyone into believing that my teaching time has ended prematurely and that the class will go on to other things now that I am leaving.  The person teaching carries on with a mock lesson, while the other continues to clean things up at the table. 
 
They will casually unroll a Tootsie Roll Pop and pop one in their mouth as they finish cleaning up and turn and offer everyone in the class one if they like.  Urging them a bit, reassuring them that I am finished with them and that its ok to eat them now.
 
After everyone has been offered a Tootsie Roll Pop (most will accept one, by the way) and many have popped them in their mouth, I silently, without saying a word, while the “new teacher” is still talking, walk in and write on the board in large letters, “What part of Do Not Eat the Tootsie Roll Pops did you not understand?!”  I will then simply turn around and look at them.  The sheepish grins, the excuses, the sudden realization that they have been tricked, is priceless, and a great stepping stool into the real lesson.  Sin.
 
The Lesson
 
Sin is heinous and despicable and deadly.  We do not always see it that way.  Oh, we might see murder as a serious problem, but that little untruth we were just a part of, well, that is so minor compared to murder, its hardly worth noticing.   As I read the Bible, God does not conveniently rate sins on a scale from minor indiscretions to major concerns, and then everywhere in between.  His scale is much simpler.  Everything is equal.  A little white lie is as bad as murder, because it is all a deviation from perfection. 
 
We do not have the capacity to fully grasp how holy God is, how perfect.  We are told in the Bible, that if a human being were to look upon God in His full perfection and glory, that man would die instantly.  He could not stand in the presence of a God that perfect.  Isaiah, when He was caught up into Heaven and caught just a glimpse of the glory of God, fell on his face and shouted out that He was going to die right there.  We do not know what that is like, I’m afraid.  We have become too comfortable with sin.
 
David Wilkerson, a man saved out of the gang culture of the 60’s, in his later years focused on the sin that we have grown accustomed to and even embraced in our lives.  His question over and over was this, Are we grieved by our own sin?  This is a quote from him:
 
Are you troubled and grieved by your besetting sin? Does it keep you boiling inside, giving you sleepless hours, emotional pain, sorrow, guilt and despair? Do you feel you're on the brink of falling under the heavy load of it all?  Does your heart cry out, "Lord, my sins are over my head, beyond my comprehension. Yet I know all my troubles come from your chastening hand. Oh, God, I don't want to be a slave to my wicked habits any longer. Please - give me back my freedom!"
 
We might understand the idea of grieving over sin when it is a major thing like drug addiction or adultery or pornography.  But are we grieved by our failure in the small areas as well?  As we come closer to God, His glory and light will expose more and more of our sin.  Our honesty and understanding of how God sees our shortfalls will help us to consider that we need to change.
 
Satan deceived Adam and Eve over a little thing like eating just a bite from someplace God said they should keep away from.  Such a little thing really.  And yet it changed the world.  

PDF of Lesson