Four Noisy Boys

In a large city in Ukraine lived four noisy boys. The boys are brothers. They loved their father, but they had a problem with obedience. They just could not seem to do what they were told. The boys loved to spend time together, running and playing and fighting. And they were noisy. In school the brothers especially liked to tease the other children.

Their father loved the boys, but he was not happy with the way they were acting. One day Father told the boys that he was going to take them to a special program called worship.

"What is worship?" they asked.

"Worship is a meeting in a church," Father explained. "I expect you boys to sit and listen quietly. You may draw pictures, but you must be quiet."

On Sabbath morning Father dressed up in his suit and took the boys to Sabbath School. Father hoped that his sons would learn something good in church.

The boys were not sure they wanted to go to church, but they went because they loved their father. When they walked into the building, their father whispered a reminder that they must be quiet. For several minutes the boys stared at the strange beauty around them. Then a pleasant woman invited them to follow her to their Sabbath School classes. Each boy could go to a class for his own age group, but the brothers decided that they would all go to the same class.

The boys liked the Sabbath School program prepared just for children. There were plenty of action songs that let them get up and move around, and never once did a teacher shout at them or pull their ears or threaten to take them to the principal, as their school teachers did. Instead, they listened to interesting stories, and later the children had a chance to act the stories out. Sometimes the children made noise, but the teacher was patient with them. She simply reminded them that they were in God's house, and they should whisper.

After Sabbath School the four boys found their father and sat down with him. They tried to be quiet, but soon they began to wiggle. Then one of the brothers got up and walked around. One of the people sitting nearby kindly whispered to him that it is important to be quiet while they are worshiping God. The brothers soon sensed that these people loved children and would not punish them if they forgot to be quiet.

After church Father asked the boys what they had done during Sabbath School. All four of the boys tried to talk at once. Father decided that they all wanted to come back the following Sabbath. So Father took the boys to church again. And little by little the boys learned how to worship in God's house.

Going to Church Alone

One week Father could not go to church with the boys. Their mother was not interested in taking them either. The boys were sad. They wanted to go to Sabbath School. Then the eldest boy asked his father if they could go to church by themselves. Their parents agreed to let the boys go to church alone, and Father reminded them about the importance of being quiet in God's house.

The four brothers walked to the church. They went to their Sabbath School class and then sat through the church service. They sometimes forgot and made noise, but those sitting nearby reminded them to sit quietly and listen.

The next week the boys' father again did not attend church. So once more the brothers dressed and walked to church. It seemed that their father had lost interest in worshiping God. But the brothers were not willing to stop going to church. They continued attending church every week.

A few years passed, and the eldest brother decided that he wanted to be baptized. The second brother joined the Pathfinder Club. And all four brothers still come to church together. Now they know how to behave in church. The two youngest brothers look forward to the day when they are old enough to join the Pathfinder Club, and the second boy looks forward to the day when he can be baptized as his older brother was.

When the brothers were asked why they continued to attend church, even after their father stopped going, they said it was because of the lessons of kindness and love that they learned in Sabbath School class and from the people who loved them, even when they were four noisy boys.

The brothers pray that one day their parents will come to church with them and learn about God's love as they have.

This story originally appeared in the children's edition of Mission, 3rd quarter 2001, edited by Charlotte Ishkanian. Used by permission.