Unforgiveness: The Weighted Backpack | Object Lesson
This is an object lesson that can help you teach your class about how we need to forgive others as God has forgiven us!
This object lesson delivers a powerful physical demonstration of the unseen burden carried by those who refuse to forgive. You will use a weighted backpack to represent the emotional and spiritual heaviness of holding onto hurt and bitterness, teaching children that forgiveness is a choice that sets us free. This lesson is based on Matthew 6:12, which asks God to “forgive us our debt, as we forgive our debtors.”
Materials and Preparation
You must have a sturdy school backpack and a collection of multiple, distinguishable weights. These weights can be actual small hand weights, heavy books, small sandbags, or rocks. Crucially, each weight should be small enough to be dropped into the backpack one at a time. Secure a volunteer who is strong enough to handle a heavy final load but young enough (or dramatic enough) to clearly show the increasing strain.
- Introduce the Theme: Begin by reading or quoting Matthew 6:12. Explain to the children that Jesus taught us to ask God for forgiveness in the same way that we forgive others. If we hold grudges against friends, we’re basically asking God to hold a grudge against us when we mess up! Ask the children: Has anyone ever hurt your feelings or done something mean? (Of course, they have.) Is it easy to forgive them? (It’s hard!)
- The Unforgiving Burden: Call your volunteer forward and have them put on the empty backpack. Explain that the backpack represents them, and the weights represent the hurt they carry every time they refuse to forgive someone. Now, start adding the weights, mentioning a specific hurt for each one you drop in:
- Weight 1: An Insult. (Someone called you a mean name.)
- Weight 2: Exclusion. (A friend left you out of a game or party.)
- Weight 3: A Broken Promise. (Someone promised you something and didn’t follow through.)
- Weight 4: Gossip/Betrayal. (You told someone a secret and they told everyone else.)
- Weight 5: Feeling Unseen. (Feeling invisible or undervalued in a group.)
- Weight 6: Bitterness/Resentment. (The feeling that starts to grow when the hurt stays.)
- Demonstrate the Strain: Instruct the volunteer to walk around the classroom or simply try to pick something up. The backpack should now be noticeably heavy. Explain that every time we refuse to forgive, that weight stays with us. The person who hurt us may have forgotten about it, or they may not even care that they hurt us. But because we won’t forgive, we are the ones forced to carry this heavy load of hurt, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Holding onto that hurt doesn’t punish the person who wronged you; it only hurts us.
- The Forgiving Servant (Optional Story): At this point, you can tell the short story of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18. A king forgave a servant a massive debt, but that servant immediately went out and refused to forgive a small debt owed to him. God has forgiven us a massive amount of sin, so how can we not forgive someone for something small?
- Letting Go of the Weight: Tell the volunteer that forgiveness is a choice to follow God’s example and let go of the bitterness. It’s not about saying the hurt was okay; it’s about choosing to remove the spiritual and emotional weight. Now, have the volunteer remove the weights from the backpack, one by one. As they remove the final weight, instruct them to shake the empty backpack off and take a deep breath. The volunteer should look and feel noticeably lighter and freer.
Final Application: God forgave us fully—even the people who put Him on the cross! If God can forgive that, we can certainly follow His example and forgive the hurts done to us. Carrying around a backpack full of weights is the same as carrying around a big load of unforgiveness. Empty that backpack, and you will feel so much lighter and free!
