Would You Rather…

Happy Grandparent’s Day! If you’re looking for a simple, fun activity that can bring the generations of your family together, look no further than Would You Rather.

All you need to do in order to play is come up with two options and ask everyone which they’d prefer. For example, would you rather have to eat pizza every day for the rest of your life or never be able to eat it again? If you were stranded on a desert island, would you rather have tools but no food, or food but no tools? Give each person a chance to share their opinion (and their reasoning!), and let the debate begin!

GoNoodle has a series of videos on YouTube with prompts designed for kids and teachers, but a Christian youth group organization called “Youth Workin’ It” put together their own list of Bible-related prompts that you can try if you’d like. You can find them here.

There are three sets of questions, and here are some of the highlights:

Would you rather…

...spend one hour in heaven or one week with Jesus on Earth?

...live through a plague of locusts or a plague of frogs?

...have been baptized by John The Baptist or been in the upper room at Pentecost?

...live on the ark with all the stinky animals or be stuck in the belly of a large fish?

...be Abraham and be told you have to kill your only son not knowing that he’d be saved or be Isaac knowing that your father would be willing to sacrifice you?

Not all of the prompts are appropriate for younger kids, and some are (in our opinion) less engaging than others, so while we encourage you to start with this list, don’t end with it – come up with your own questions!

You can, of course, just sit and brainstorm together. But you can also choose a Bible story to read, and then have everyone come up with a question that goes with it so it’s fresh in your mind. For example, after reading the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, you might ask “Would you rather live in the garden forever without the gift of knowledge or eat from the tree but be forced to leave?”

Not only is this game a fun, eminently repeatable conversation starter for your family, it has some great learning benefits for younger participants as well. Connecting the game to the Bible stories you’re reading will facilitate reading comprehension, make the stories feel more relevant, and help your young people build empathy by inviting them to put themselves in the place of the characters.

So gather your family and give it a go! If you come up with any particularly puzzling prompts, share them with us in person or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.