BITTER or BETTER?

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)

Props: 7 papers, with one of the following letters on each: B, I, T, T, E, R and E

In today’s Bible Lesson, you heard about different workers in a vineyard. Some of them worked all day and others worked for just a short time, but they were all paid the same amount of money. The workers who were there all day became upset by what they thought was unfair.
There may be times in your life when you feel like you have had to work very hard for what you have. Maybe you have gone through problems or tough times and it seems like others around you are getting off easy.
(Have helpers hold up the letters to spell “BITTER.”) Problems can make you bitter, if you let them. Does anyone know what bitter means? (Allow for response). A bitter taste in your mouth is sharp and yucky. When you become bitter toward others, you don’t like them because of how you feel they have treated you. Some people even become bitter toward God. They blame Him for bad things that happen to them and they hold on to their anger.
Everyone will go through tough times. (Have helpers hold up the letters to spell “BETTER.”) But whatever you go through, those times can make you better. Problems can be used to make you stronger and to help you grow in your faith. Hard work will make you stronger and can teach you discipline. Everything that happens to you can make you better, even if it seems unpleasant at the time.
Some of those workers in the Bible Lesson had to work for 12 hours in the hot sun. They didn’t understand why they didn’t get paid more than the others. If they had been focusing on the right things, they would have been happy that the others were blessed the same as they were.
BITTER or BETTER. (Interchange the “E” and the “I”). The “I” makes the difference. Everyone point to yourself. Say, “I make the difference.” Say, “My attitude can make the difference.” Your attitude will decide whether tough times make you bitter or better.
Focus on all that God has given you, and how everything that happens to you can make you better.