Will Power! The Power to Fight Temptation! - Proverbs Youth Sunday School Lesson

Brief: It’s wise to exercise self-control.

(Printable Student Sheet)

 

Scripture: Proverbs 23:29-35; 20:1; 23:1-5; 25:16, 28; 16:32

 

Read Proverbs 23:29-35.

According to this passage, what happens when people drink too much alcohol? 

It makes people lose their perception of reality. You can get addicted.  It also says that people get bruises when they’re drunk and that people are hitting them. Let’s find out why.

 

Read Proverbs 20:1.

According to this verse, what else can happen when we drink? 

Sometimes, alcohol makes people angry or irritable and can cause them to get into fights more easily.

 

Read Proverbs 23:1-5.

What two things are these verses warning us against? 

Wanting good food and lots of money, gluttony and greed.

 

Why does God want us to avoid these two things? 

God knows that our wanting to get rich or wanting to dine expensively is distracting to what life is really all about. God has designed life to be all about having a relationship with Him and loving each other. Making too much out of money or how good our food is makes an idol out of those things.

 

Read Proverbs 25:16.

What are some good things that we can have too much of?

Too much of one kind of food will make our body will suffer. Focusing too much on one aspect of our lives will make the other aspects suffer. We need balance.

So, instead of drinking too much or eating too much or trying to get more and more money or spending too much time on one thing, what should we do?

 

Read Proverbs 16:32.

Being a warrior and being able to conquer a city is pretty tough.  But who does this verse say is even stronger than that? 

The person who can control himself is even stronger than someone who is incredibly strong physically. It’s about self-control.

 

Read Proverbs 25:28.

What are a city’s walls used for?  

The walls of a city are for protection and defense. 

 

What happens when the walls are broken down?  

If the walls are broken down, then the enemy can come in and conquer the inhabitants or kill them.

 

How is this like us when do not exercise self-control?

If we don’t keep our defenses up, our self-control and will-power, then it will be easy for us to give in to those temptations of drinking too much or eating too much or wanting too much money or getting obsessed over something or giving in to anger. We need to have self-control to fight off those temptations.