King or Queen for a Day

Everybody likes to feel special, but that’s not really what this activity is about. It’s about practicing servanthood. Choosing to “consider others better than” ourselves, as Philippians says, does not come naturally to anyone. It’s a daily choice, and it takes ongoing practice.

Our culture—our world, as defined by the Bible—encourages us to do exactly the opposite. The successful contestants on nearly every reality TV show find a way to use each other to get to the top. Even being nice is often seen as a strategy for manipulating and stepping over lesser contestants.

Obviously, that approach to life isn’t limited to TV. Sometimes it even shows up in our families.

Jesus’ mission on Earth could not have been more opposite. That same passage in Philippians 2 tells us that He “made himself nothing,” becoming a servant to mere human beings in His life and even in His death. We are told to take His attitude on for ourselves.

The point of this family activity is to help your kids put that into action.

Try This:

Tell your family you’re going to pick several dates on the calendar during the coming few weeks when each person will be given the honor of being king or queen for a day. (Try to pick dates when every family member will be around for at least part of the day.)

If you have a crown or sash or something that looks like a scepter to give to the king or queen on that day, it would help everyone to take the activity more seriously.

This is not about anyone’s birthday or rewarding any special accomplishment. It’s important to make that clear. The monarch of the day has not necessarily earned this recognition. It’s just something each of you will take a turn doing (including mom and dad).

The rules must be very specific. Each king or queen is allowed to use their power to make 2 specific service requests (no gifts!) of each family member during his or her day. Every request is reviewable by the parents to make sure it is reasonable, ethical, and moral.

In addition, each family member must also perform 2 additional acts of service for the king or queen that are not requested. The idea here is to try to think like a good servant: “What does the king need that I can provide?” “What would the queen appreciate that is in my power to deliver?”

Again, no gift should be given as part of this activity. Our goal is to generate an atmosphere of active service with the side benefit of giving everyone a day to experience being served.

While explaining the activity, read Philippians 2:3-11 to your family, emphasizing that Jesus-follower should learn to think like Him—and He thought like a servant, not a ruler.

You might also suggest that each family member keep a little journal or sheet of paper listing what acts of service were done for him or her—and what acts of service he or she was able to provide to the others on their special days.

Once everyone has had a turn, make sure to sit down together as a family and talk about how it felt to serve and to be served in this way. Was it fun to be “forced” to serve each other? Was it hard to think of ways everyone in the family could serve you? What would it take to think this way more often about each other and people outside of our home?

Lead your family in prayer at some point, thanking God for Jesus’ servant attitude and asking Him to help each of you to become more like Jesus by being better servants.

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