For Kids · 3 min with a grown-up
Some people were telling everyone, “Don't worry, everything is fine!” — but it was not true. God wanted His people to know the difference between a pretty lie and the real truth.
Today's Story
There were some people who said they spoke for God — but they did not. They just told everyone whatever sounded nice. “Peace! Everything is wonderful! Nothing bad will ever happen!” they said. But it was not what God had said at all. They made it up.
God gave Ezekiel a picture to help everyone understand. Imagine a wall that is weak and wobbly, built badly so it might fall over. Now imagine someone comes along and paints it with bright white paint to make it look smooth and strong and pretty.
Does the paint make the wall strong? No! It only makes it look strong. When the wind and rain come, that wobbly wall will still tumble down, paint and all.
That is what those people were doing. They were painting over the truth with nice-sounding words. They told everyone the wobbly wall was safe, when really it was not.
God said, “I do not want pretty words that are not true. I want the truth.” God loves us too much to pretend everything is fine when it is not. He always tells us what is real — even when it is hard — because the truth is what keeps us safe.
A Big Word
Talk About It
- Has anyone ever told you something that sounded nice but turned out not to be true? How did you feel when you found out?
- A wobbly wall with pretty paint still falls down. Why is it better to know the real truth, even when the truth is harder to hear?
- God always tells us the truth because He loves us. How does it feel to know you can trust everything God says?