What Doesn't Make You Strong

When a younger brother gets arrested for underage drinking, he reveals that the person who unintentionally influenced him was the big brother he admired most. This short but powerful skit dives into the heart of 1 Corinthians 8, challenging us to consider our responsibility to those with weaker faith.
Perfect for youth groups, small group discussions, or worship services where real-life choices and consequences are explored.

• Bible Reference: 1 Corinthians 8
• Run-Time: Approximately 5 minutes
• Cast of Characters:
  • Jimmie
    • A teenage boy (mid-teens)
    • Sensitive, looks up to his older brother
    • Struggles with the consequences of a poor decision and wants to do what's right
  • Bill
    • Jimmie’s older brother (early twenties)
    • Confident and carefree
    • Doesn't realize how his actions influence others until it’s too late
  • Don
    • A friend or coworker of Bill (also early twenties)
    • More thoughtful and cautious
    • Serves as the voice of reason in the skit
• Set: None required
• Costumes / Lighting / Sound: Standard
• Props: None

Sample of script:

[Jimmie enters, clearly upset, and sits silently. Moments later, Bill and Don walk on.]

Bill (to Jimmie): Hey little brother!

Jimmie (mumbling): Oh, hi Bill.

Bill (to Don): So I said to him, “Like what’s the big deal, I mean, it’s no biggie!”

Don: Well, maybe not to you, Bill, but I’d be a little concerned that maybe what you do might be seen by others as…

Bill: Give me a break, Don! I mean, I look after me. It’s up to the next guy to look after himself. That’s how I see it.

Don: Don’t you think you have any responsibility for others?

Bill: Look this is no biggie! The guys from work are all going to the bar after work, why shouldn’t I go along? Everybody knows that I have a coke when I go to the bar, doesn’t bother me, and if it bothers the guys who are drinking liquor then, way I see it, it’s their problem, not mine.

Jimmie: That was a coke you were drinking, Bill?

Bill: Yeh, everyone there knows it was a Coke. Some of the guys gave me a dig about having a pop in the bar, runs off me like water off a duck’s back. Like I say, no biggie to me.

Don: Well, Bill, it’s not so much the guys from work that concern me. What if someone sees you there and doesn’t realize you are having a Coke and not liquor?

Bill: It’s up to everyone to stand on their own two hind legs, alright? No use someone trying to spoon feed someone else, they gotta make their own decisions, learn on their own, in their own way. It’s like what I always say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong.”

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