Bible lessons for persons with cognitive disabilities
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Micah 6:8 "do justly" (© Jeff McNair)
"He has shown you, O man, what is good and what God wants you to do. But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
The first thing that "is good and what God wants you to do" is to "do justly." We are to DO justly. Justice is something we do. So what does it mean to do justly or what is justice? A good and simple definition of doing justly or acting justly, is acting fairly, or honestly, or equally. We can often see when someone is treated...
fairly or not fairly honestly or not honestly equally or not equallyAsk your group for an example of when they saw someone or when they were not treated fairly. How should they have been treated such that it would be fair? Do the same for honestly and equally. Your group will be able to identify differences between the ways of treating people. If not, provide an example. Imagine that you dropped your coffee on the floor. I shouted at you, "Be more careful. You made a big mess!' The person next to you drops her coffee on the floor and I say, "Don't worry about it, it was just an accident." Your group will recognize the difference. Think of an example where you tell one person the truth and another person a lie. Your group will recognize the difference. Give an example where a man or woman gets some kind of special treatment, and then a person of the opposite sex gets treated differently. Talk about treating people equally.
In each of these contrasts, I talk about how people with disabilities are not treated fairly or honestly or equally. I find that my group can come up with examples to illustrate differential treatment on the basis of disabilities experienced by group members.
Then ask the question, "What does it mean to be fair to someone?" Even children know what it means to be fair as they will often say, "That's not fair!" Imagine you had 5 cookies to share among 2 children. "How might you do it in a way that is fair, that is just?" God says justice is good and what he wants us to be fair.
Move on to honesty. "What does it mean to be honest?" Ask them about telling the truth, or stealing something that belongs to someone else. "Do you remember any of the 10 commandments that address honesty?" God says justice is good and what he wants us to be honest.
Move to equality. "What does it mean to treat people equally?" Over the centuries down to the present day, people are confused about treating others equally. People are treated differently because of the color of their skin. I often get the response from those who are supposedly the mentally retarded of society that that doesn't make any sense. People are treated differently because they are men or women. People are treated differently because they have a disability. But God loves us all the same. He doesn't care what we can or can't do, or how we look, or anything else. He loves us all the same. So if I treat people differently, especially if the difference is that I treat them badly, I am not being like God. I am not doing what is good and what God wants me to do. God says justice is good and what he wants me to treat people equally.
So, when I do justly, what do I do? I treat people fairly, I am honest, and I treat people equally. That is what I DO that is good.
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© Jeff McNair