Discussion Guide

NOTE: This song’s lyrics are EXPLICIT – we don’t condone them, or recommend that kids listen to this song – but we know that many of your students are familiar with it, and want to give you a tool to help them think Bibically about it.

Teaching Point
Relationships can be difficult to navigate. When close relationships end, we can be left with emotions ranging from sadness and mourning, to hate and anger. Anger can be cathartic, but as Christ-followers we are called to forgiveness and love.

Opening Questions

• If social media offered a “dislike” button (or worse, a “hate” button), how should it work?
• How often do you think you would use it?
• Don’t say their names, but are faces popping into your mind right now? Maybe a “frenemy”, or an ex?

Discussion
Let’s face it, relationships are no picnic. When I was in middle school, my first-ever boyfriend dumped me for another girl. What’s worse, he had his friend call me to break up with me! I cried for hours! I felt like my world was falling apart!

You’ve probably heard the song floating around TikTok by the artist GAYLE. In this song, she lashes out at the person who broke her heart by listing everything and everyone she hates about the situation and the people surrounding it.

While it may be cathartic to scream out our hate list about the person who broke our heart, it’s not exactly what we’re called to do as followers of Christ.

Jesus says it plainly in Luke 6:37, “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

Earlier in that same chapter, Jesus flips expectations upside down by calling us to love our enemies, to be kind to those who hurt us, to pray for others, and to quickly forgive our persecutors. In this, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what God’s Kingdom is like.

Luke 6:27-36 (NIV)
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” When we’re slow to anger, quick to love and serve others, and even quicker to pray for and forgive those who hurt us, we have the privilege of making God’s Kingdom a reality here on Earth! How awesome a responsibility we have – to help lead others into God’s light!

Conclusion
Forgiveness isn’t always easy. It took me a LONG time to finally let go of the hurt from my broken, 6th-grade heart. But, Jesus didn’t say it would be easy. He just said to do it.

In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus tells Simon Peter to forgive “seven times seventy” times.

• What does this mean?

It means we forgive once, and then we keep on forgiving!
It means making a conscious decision not to dwell on the thing or person that hurt us or the person who wronged us.
It means deliberately choosing to let go of the anger and hatred we may hold toward that person.
It means learning to love them despite what they’ve done.
It means choosing daily to be like Jesus!