Sermon Illustrations
Hungry Six-Year-Old Phones in Exorbitant Takeout Order
When Keith Stonehouse started receiving a flurry of orders from the takeout service GrubHub, it didn’t take him long to realize what had happened. Stonehouse had allowed his six-year-old son Mason to play on his phone before bed. Mason rewarded his kindness by ordering a whole lot of food. “Why did you do this?” asked Stonehouse to Mason, who hid under his comforter. Mason replied, “I don’t know. I was hungry.” Mason then proceeded to interrupt his father’s lecture to ask if the pizzas he ordered had arrived yet.
Stonehouse later said that the $439 pizza order was canceled by his bank for appearing fraudulent. But that more than $1,000 worth of food was successfully ordered and delivered, creating a very full refrigerator and emergency offers to friends and neighbors to share the unforeseen bounty. Stonehouse said, “I had to keep stepping out of [his] room and calming myself down. You want to yell at your son, but he’s only six.”
The next day, Stonehouse and his wife sat down with Mason and had a talk with him, explaining the gravity of his actions. They explained that because he did this without permission, they would have to use the $150 in his piggy bank to help pay for all the hot dogs, chili cheese fries, jumbo shrimps, and other foods. Stonehouse said, “We showed him one-by-one. He was a little devastated but he understood.”
​Possible Preaching Angle:
We've all had moments where our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, but immaturity only increases our susceptibility to temptation.