Save the Princess: You’re not Alone

Post Introduction: Our students will finish learning about the importance of saving the “princess” and the help they have along the way.

The Lesson

(15-20 mins depending on conversation)

When you play super Mario sometimes having help makes it easier, but sometimes it makes things that were impossible possible. The help may come in the form of a power up, a guide, or a partner on each level. These would be outside help, direct help, and inactive help.

You could look at Toad as any positive influence in your life. Toad lets you know what’s going on and suggests good ways to accomplish your goal. Without Toad you would be less effective in reaching your goals and you wouldn’t really know what was going on, but Toad isn’t actively helping you complete each level. In your life this may be the equivalent of a teacher, minister, or friend that you look up to for advice. 

Proverbs 13:20- “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm”

Toad may help you before or after a level, but what about when you’re in the middle of it? In video games and life you may have some helpers that help you in the middle of a hard “level.” 

Proverbs 17:17- “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for time of adversity.”

Sometimes you happen upon an egg and a Yoshi pops out to help you. When Yoshi gives you a ride it makes it possible to reach new heights and defeat characters more easily. In your life, Yoshi could be compared to your close friends. They work with you to help you do things you couldn’t do on your own. You have entirely different skill sets that work together to accomplish something you could never imagine without Yoshi’s help. Unlike most close friends, the downside to Yoshi is that if you fall off he may run away forever. However, like Yoshi, even the closest of friends aren’t always meant to enter every level with us.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10- “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

You may also play Super Mario with a friend, who normally plays as Mario’s brother, Luigi. This could be your family, or for some “levels” a close friend, always there when you ask for help and always willing to help in anyway possible. Sometimes, you’re lucky and a family member will do something for you, other times they’re just there to help you figure things out for yourself and support you along the way. Regardless, I would consider this my favorite kind of help!

What about when you’re playing a game that has no outside help. There’s no one to tell you what you should be doing and there’s no one to help carry you or partner with you through the levels. Many games and life give you the opportunity to help yourself. Tools are provided for you that help you to defeat the enemy without needing another living person or being. In super Mario this would be a feather, a mushroom, or a flower. These items all help you without awareness, unlike the actual characters in the game. In your life these tools would be prayer and scripture.

Mark 11:24- “therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Psalm 102:17- “he will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”

Hebrews 4:12- “for the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”

There may be times in your life where you only have an outside guide, someone telling you what to do but not walking with you through the problem. There will be other times that a family member or friend will walk with you every step of the way and do anything they can to help you. But at the end of the day the best weapons are the ones that you can use for yourself. God has given us his word and the ability to pray to him as our greatest weapons against the enemy and we have the ability to use them at any time. With these weapons we can defeat any enemy and save the Princess.