Bible Story Ideas - The Lazy Soldier

The Lazy Soldier

by Mike

Even the best soldiers, if not careful, can get caught up in the wrong things.

Topics:
Laziness, Preparedness, Serving, Temptation

Target Age:
Grades 1 2 3 4 5 6

Once upon a time in a land fairly close by, lived a solider named Benny. Benny held the rank of sergeant in the country of Zeal's army. Sergeant Benny was a very hard worker and took care to ensure that everything was in its place, that his rifle was properly taken care of, and that all orders were followed. Sergeant Benny would work long hard hours to ensure that everything got done and that everything was secure. The people of Zeal slept easier knowing that Sergeant Benny was on the job.

One day the top official of the country of Zeal's army noticed what an outstanding job Sergeant Benny was doing. He spoke with some of the other officials and they decided to send Sergeant Benny to the island of Lackadaisical.

You see the soldiers on the island of Lackadaisical were not very hard workers and they hardly ever finished all their work. The island wasn't very secure and rumor had it that this would be the first place attacked, if and when a war broke out. Sergeant Benny would be a big help to the island.

Sergeant Benny gladly accepted his new orders, just as he always did. When Sergeant Benny arrived on the island of Lackadaisical he couldn't believe his eyes. The other soldier's uniforms were very sloppy, their rifles were covered with dirt and grim, their shoes needed to be shined and most of them were lying in the shade drinking lemonade. Sergeant Benny shouted "What kind of soldiers are you?" The other soldiers laughed and told Benny to lighten up, who did he think he was? They told him that if he had a problem he should go see the top official of the island.

Sergeant Benny marched right over to the official's house and asked to speak with him. The top officials name was Mr. Apathetic. Sergeant Benny noticed that Mr. Apathetic was in worse shape than the soldiers of Lackadaisical.

"Yes, how may I help you?" Mr. Apathetic yawned. Sergeant Benny began to explain how sloppy the soldiers were and how unsecured the island was, when Mr. Apathetic interrupted him, "yes, yes, whatever. Please come back and talk to me after lunch. I need to take a nap right now."

Sergeant Benny returned after lunch and was told to come back after dinner. When he returned after dinner he was told to come back after breakfast, Mr. Apathetic was playing and didn't have time to talk.

This went on for days. The days stretched into weeks. Sergeant Benny tried to talk to the other soldiers but they would just laugh and ask who had made him the boss. After a month of this Sergeant Benny began to think that maybe he had been working just a little bit too hard. The island was beautiful and had many nice places to swim. Benny decided that he would take the afternoon off and go swimming. After swimming he was very hungry and ate a big lunch. After eating he took a long nap. At first Sergeant Benny felt bad about goofing off and not doing his work, but the more he goofed off the easier it became.

Soon Benny was goofing off everyday, his rifle was caked with mud, he couldn't find his boots, his shirt was torn, and he needed to comb his hair. Benny was just getting ready to take a nap when the alarm sounded. The island of Lackadaisical was under attack. Benny jumped to his feet and began to run to the army base to get his rifle (at least that's where he thought he left it) but found he couldn't run very fast because he was out of shape. The enemy quickly defeated the soldiers of Lackadaisical, not one of the people of Lackadaisical survived.

We are also in an army, God's army. We need to make sure that we stay in shape, by reading our Bibles, praying, thinking about God, and helping others. Many things can try to distract us from staying in shape. We need to put God first. It can be easy to put off reading the Bible, we may think its more fun to ride our bikes or play video games. It's not wrong to ride bikes or play video games, but we need to make sure we put God first. Some people may not understand the importance of prayer, reading the Bible and thinking about God, don't follow their bad examples. God wants the best for us and He wants us to stay in shape. That's an order soldier!