Before class, write the phrase, “Why is obedience important?” on the whiteboard or screenshared document.
As your students enter the classroom, invite them to come up to the board and write their answer to this question based on their own experiences or on common knowledge. (If your class is meeting online, have students call out their answers as you type them on the document.) For example, “The last time I disobeyed my parents I lost my phone privileges” or “When my uncle was caught speeding, he got a ticket from the police officer.”
When all students who wanted to participate have finished, read the answers to the entire class.
- What might happen if everyone stopped obeying all laws? (Answers will vary. Most students will come to the conclusion that traffic laws, laws on the books, school rules, etc. are there for their protection and to help society function.)
This summer, people walking across an intersection in Beach Haven, New Jersey were rewarded for their obedience of the rules. Instead of punishing people for disobeying by not using the crosswalk, the city tried rewarding people who obeyed the laws instead.
Read this article out loud to your students.
Free 7-Eleven Slurpees at the Jersey Shore if you obey the law.
After reading the article to your students, invite them to answer the following questions.
- Do you think more people at this intersection in New Jersey began following the law when they received coupons for free Slurpees™? (Answers will vary. Help students see that this incentive toward obedience seemed to be working.)
- What opportunities does this interaction with pedestrians give the local police officers? (Answers will vary. The article mentioned that police are better able to interact with people when they have a positive approach and they then can tell the pedestrian population about bike paths and other safety issues in a non-threatening way.)
- Have you ever been rewarded for your obedience? (Answers will vary. Invite students to share. Perhaps a teacher, coach, or parent took this approach with them.)
- In general, what do you think of rewards for obedience instead of punishments for disobedience? (Answers will vary. Accept all reasonable answers.)
- Do positive incentives work? At what point is it necessary to just obey regardless of a positive incentive? (Invite students to share their thoughts. Most will say that a police officer can’t explain to each driver why he or she must wear a seatbelt or not run a red light. Sometimes a reward helps, but often obedience is just necessary for the safe function of society.)
The intersection in the popular Jersey Shore town saw success and more obedience as a result of the problem they faced with too many accidents and deaths because people were not obeying laws! Let’s find out about God’s expectations about obedience.
