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Subject Yourself

Album: 24: Risks and Rewards

Episode: 308

Lesson/Theme: Obeying those in authority.

Bible Verse: Romans 13:1

Characters:

Writer: Paul McCusker

Sound Designer: Mark Drury

Original Air Date: April 1, 1995

Last Air Date: March 30, 2009

Description:
Lawrence is unhappy, so unhappy, even his renowned imagination can’t change things. The cause of this unhappiness? Braces. He has a mouthful, along with the medieval-torture-device headgear he must wear at night. Of course, he also has a list of foods he can’t eat as well, all his favorites: pizza crust, candy, and caramel apples. The mere thought of it makes him want to scream. Jack tells him to use his imagination to solve his problem. While Lawrence is doing that, his mother, Maureen, is facing problems of her own. Maureen is a school teacher, and the board has voted in a new history curriculum, one that eliminates Christianity’s contribution to the development of the United States and western civilization. Maureen can’t in good conscience teach this to her students. After much soul searching, and persuasion and encouragement from Jack and others, she decides to take on the school board. Meanwhile, Lawrence has come up with a creative way to handle his braces problem, he wants fashionably-colored braces. Unfortunately, he’s not willing to wait to let the dentist do it. Instead, he paints them himself using the paint from his model car kit. He shows Jack, who immediately rushes him to the hospital. Lawrence learns a valuable lesson about being patient and also about listening to his mother and those in authority. And Maureen? Her stance against the curriculum is successful, and she learns that there are times when you have to go against what the authorities say, namely, when the authorities contradict God.

Questions:
Why was Maureen so opposed to the history curriculum? What is “revisionist” history? When is it appropriate to go against those in authority over you? Can you think of any other examples of when it might be okay?