Smarter than a 5th Grader

some of the contestants are teachers, doctors, rocket scientists, valedictorians.... and I have never seen anyone make it all the way through! Think about this for a moment - these are incredibly smart adults with years of education and experience, yet they struggle with elementary school questions! Why do you think that happens? Sometimes when we get older, we forget the basics or overthink simple problems. But the amazing thing about this show is the "class" of 5th graders! This class answers the same questions and at certain times are chosen to help the adults! These kids often know things that brilliant adults have forgotten. That tells us something important - wisdom isn't always about age or how many degrees you have!The adult contestants are given 3 what they call CHEATS! Do you know what they are?! (As the kids answer, you can hold up your signs one at a time) Peek..... the adult can PEEK on the students paper to see what their answer is and if they like it they can use it! The second cheat is a COPY.... you can automatically trust the students answer and COPY theirs as your own! Finally, you have a SAVE. If the adult answers the question wrong, but the student answers it correctly... then they have SAVED the adult and they can stay in the game! And let me tell you the students save the adults A LOT!Now here's where it gets really interesting for us as Christians! We know it's not right to CHEAT in school or games, but I want to tell you that our amazing God gives us something even better - divine HELP! Let's think about how God provides us with similar tools, but in a way that's completely honest and good.First, let's talk about PEEK. What does God give us to PEEK at when we need answers and guidance in life? HIS WORD - the Bible! But this isn't just any book. The Bible contains thousands of years of wisdom, stories of people who faced real problems just like we do, and God's direct instructions for how to live. When you're facing a difficult decision - like whether to tell the truth when you've made a mistake, or how to handle a bully at school - you can "peek" into God's Word and find guidance. For example, Proverbs is full of practical wisdom for daily life, and Jesus' teachings in the Gospels show us exactly how to treat others.But here's a question for you to think about: How is looking to the Bible for guidance different from cheating on a test? When we cheat, we're being dishonest and not really learning. But when we look to God's Word, we're learning truth and growing in wisdom. God WANTS us to use His Word - He gave it to us for exactly this purpose!Now, how does God give us something to COPY? This is really fascinating! He gave us His Word to follow because He knows what's absolutely best for us - not just what feels good in the moment, but what will truly make our lives better. More importantly, He gave us JESUS as the perfect example to COPY in our lives each day. Jesus showed us how to love others, even when they're mean to us. He showed us how to help people who are hurting, how to stand up for what's right, and how to share God's love with everyone we meet.Think about this: When you see someone being picked on at school, what would Jesus do? When you have the opportunity to help someone who's struggling with homework, what would Jesus do? When someone hurts your feelings, how did Jesus respond to people who hurt Him? These aren't always easy questions, and sometimes copying Jesus means doing the harder thing, not the easier thing.Finally, and this is the most amazing of all - the SAVE! Jesus SAVED us once and for all when He died on the cross for our sins. Now, at your age, you're starting to understand more about what sin really means. Sin isn't just the "big bad things" - it's anything that separates us from God. It's when we choose our way instead of God's way. It's when we're selfish instead of loving, when we lie instead of telling the truth, when we're mean instead of kind.Here's the incredible thing - we are ALL going to mess up and make bad choices sometimes in our life. Every single person sins - your parents, your teachers, your pastor, everyone! But God doesn't just love us when we're perfect. He loves us even when we fail, and He's always ready to forgive us when we come to Him with a sorry heart.But salvation isn't just about forgiveness - it's also about transformation. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and helps us become more like Jesus every day. It's like having the ultimate helper living inside you, guiding you to make better choices and giving you the strength to do what's right even when it's hard.Here's something to think about this week: In what areas of your life do you need to "peek" at God's Word for guidance? Maybe you're struggling with friendships, or dealing with anxiety about school, or trying to figure out how to help your family. What would it look like to "copy" Jesus in those situations? And how does knowing that Jesus has "saved" you change the way you live each day?We all come out as winners when we use the HELP that God has given us! That's what real wisdom looks like - not just being smart about school subjects, but being wise about life itself.Let us pray: Thank you God for giving us the Bible to peek into and learn from every day. Thank you for showing us through Jesus exactly how we should live and love others. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to save us by dying on the cross for our sins. Help us to remember that we can always come to You when we mess up, and help us to grow more like Jesus every day. When we "get it wrong," remind us of Your forgiveness and love. Amen