Leader Guide

Heads or Tails Game

We are going to do an activity to see what can happen if we just follow the crowd instead of obeying God.

Read Deuteronomy 28:13–14:

"If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.”

Moses is talking to the Israelites about the commandments that God had given them to obey. God was concerned that the Israelites would imitate the ungodly people who did not worship God instead of obeying the One True God. If they were obedient and faithful to God, they would be the head and not the tail! Now let’s see what this looks like.

Point out the two signs to the children. Choose two volunteers. Have them stand in the middle of the room. Place one child in front to be the head. Place the other child directly behind to be the tail. Have the child in back—tail—place hands lightly on the shoulders of the child in front—head. Place the blindfold on the child in back—tail. Now, instruct the “head” to walk slowly around the room a few times; and after a short time, stop in front of one sign. Ask the “tail” if they think they are in front of “Obey God” or in front of the “Obey Others” sign. After the child answers, remove the blindfold—was he/she surprised to be in front of that sign? If time, allow other children to be head and tail.  

Why was it difficult to be the tail?

When you were the tail, you could only guess where you would end up; you had no control. When we “blindly” follow the crowd, we may find ourselves in the wrong place! When we are the head, we can use our eyes to see where we are going, and we can choose to obey God and do the right thing. We can actually lead others to obey God, too! God calls us to be the head, not the tail! 

Optional: read Daniel 3:28–29:

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel to rescue His servants who trusted in Him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not follow the crowd. They did not take the easy route. They were the head, not the tail! They were not influenced to disobey God. In fact, they told the king that they would not bow to the idol, even if it meant death! The king was so moved by God’s miracle of protection that He decreed all people worship the One True God! Who can we influence by standing up for God and being the head, like the three Hebrew men?