Dangerous Journey, Part 6

Chapter 6: Vanity Fair

Today’s Theme: Faithful to the End

As our narrator says, “Most fairs are merry places.  But not this one–not for our travellers.  For here one of them was destined to die.”   What ought to have been a place of vibrant cultural exchange and beauty–with a British Row and Italian Row, etc., each representing the graces God had bestowed upon unique nations–was in fact a never-ending parade of lies and murder and conceit.  From Christian’s and Faithful’s early attempts to slip by merchants unnoticed, through their arrest, prison time, and trial–and finally Faithful’s death–the defining characteristic of this city is Vanity: vain rebellion against God and chasing after nothing.   Yet however faithless the city of Vanity was toward God and His people, God was still faithful.  And in this chapter, we are given a beautiful picture of how He kept Faithful through death, in order to bestow upon Him an eternal crown of glory.  He is also faithful to Christian, who escapes with the help of new friend, Hopeful, and together they pass unscathed by Demas and the hill of Lucre.

Devotional Application

We and our children may not face physical death for our love of Christ.  Some of us may.  (A point worth meditating on.) But all of us are at least guaranteed to face the temptations of vanity.   It is, as in Bunyan’s story, a city we all pass through.  If we are to remain faithful to Christ in the face of such temptations, we must seek His help, and depend on Him.  For He alone is the source of all beauty and glory, and He is eternally faithful to His children.

Bible Verses

• Matthew 6:33:  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.  And all these things shall be added unto you.”
• Matthew 6: 19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Activities

Object Lesson: Not For Sale–First, set about ten or so worthless things from around your home on a table.  Note: don’t just use things that are worthless in YOUR eyes.  Use things that would be worthless in their eyes too.  Here are a few ideas: several rolls of toilet paper, a piece of paper that says “You’re Great!” in ugly writing, used construction paper, a kleenex, an empty CD case, an empty trash can, dirty socks, etc.  Next, give your children each something they highly value.  For younger kids, it may be a couple of cookies or a candy bar.  For older ones, it may be a couple of dollars.  Then ask them to come to the wonderful festival or fair you’ve made.   Sit behind the table like a merchant and attempt to get the kids to trade their valuable thing for your worthless junk.  Tell them all the wonderful virtues of your wares.  “Wouldn’t you like to give me your candy bar?  You can have this really awesome trash can.  See how it smells?  C’mon, you know you want a gently used trash can!  It’s got something yellow in it, and yellow is your favorite color!  Just give me your candy bar and you can have it!”

After you’ve all had enough fun,  ask them to sit down (and maybe let them eat their candy or pocket their money), and explain the symbolism.  “It’s pretty easy not to give away something you love for junk like this, isn’t it?  But what if the great thing you had wasn’t a candy bar?  What if it was Jesus and eternal life?  And what if instead of selling things that were obviously stupid, I tried to sell you neat things like [insert stuff they like here] dresses or new cars or pirate ships or even candy bars?  Would you be willing to trade your love for God to get those good things?  What if someone told you that if you didn’t buy them, you would have to go to jail or be killed?”  You can summarize by saying when Christian and Faithful went into Vanity Fair, the people wanted them to give up their faith to buy junk.  And in the end, Faithful had to die because He wouldn’t give in.  You could even talk about countries where that happens a lot.  Pray and ask God to help His people not seek good things in a way that is sinful and not to give in even if it means we have to be hurt or killed.

Drawing Activity–Have your child to draw something he would really, really like to have.  Then ask him if someone offered it to him, and all he had to do was to give up eternal life and turn his back on Jesus, what would he say?  Could he say no like Faithful?  After getting him to ponder this, you can also remind him that God says in the next life, He will “freely give us all things.”  We just have to be patient.

Coloring Page/Make-a-Book–Two options today.  First, a drawing of Christian and Faithful walking through Vanity Fair.  Second, a picture of Faithful’s death.

Reading Notes

Vanity–As we take up this chapter, Christian and Faithful press on to the city of Vanity.  The writer of Ecclesiastes (presumably Solomon) gives us a pretty striking image for vanity: “a striving after wind.”  What strikes me about this city is that in it good things, blessings such as sex and material goods and delights to the eye and tongue and ear, are here loved and worshiped apart from God, and therefore they are deadly.

Vanity Fair–My kids didn’t get the word “fair”, but they understood “festival” instead.  We talked a little about the French Row meaning from a row of stuff from France, etc.  But most of my description went into telling them that these sellers were selling things that weren’t helpful or good.  Or if they were good, people were using them in a vain or foolish way.  I gave them the example that a vain woman might come buy a fancy new dress at this fair, and everyone would think she was really important and beautiful.  But what if to pay for the dress, she had left her children at home with no food?  Everyone would think she was a great woman, but really she was cruel and unloving.  She preferred the attention of being beautiful to caring for her children.  Biblical Reference: Genesis 25: 29-34, when Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of soup.  Esau exhibits in that passage a similar kind of fleshly indulgence at the expense of his character and his responsibility toward his family.

Knick-knacks of gold and silver, baubles, etc.—Q. What’s wrong with all these things?  Does God not want us to have pretty things?   A.  Here’s a great place to introduce the “Seek ye first” Bible reference.  God will give his people far more beautiful things than these.  But He will do so in a way that is edifying and satisfying, and that brings us closer to Him.

Titles, honours, and preferments–Q.  Would you trade a chocolate cookie (or $10) for a piece of paper that said you were a princess or a prince?  A.  Of course not, because a piece of paper doesn’t actually make you a princess.  These people were deceived because they didn’t realize only GOD can give honors that mean anything.  Only God’s opinion of us matters in the end.  But these people didn’t care what God thought, and so they couldn’t ever truly be important people.  They were chasing after wind.

Why aren’t you buying our merchandise?–Q.  Why did people hate Christian and Faithful?  What was different about them? A. At first, they didn’t like them because their clothes and they way they talked were different.  But the thing that got them put in jail was that they wouldn’t buy their “vain” stuff.  In saying no to the people, they were seen as judging them–saying they were wrong–and that made the people angry.  Can you think of a time when that might happen today?  Maybe a parent could tell about a time when he or she did buy vain stuff to keep from being thought uncool?  (I can certainly think of many example–for instance, the time I paid over $70 for some jeans that wouldn’t fit!)

Placed in a Cage–We live in a culture that doesn’t usually put people in jail for being a Christian.  But that hasn’t always been the case, and it still happens in many other countries.  Bible Reference: Acts 21, when Paul is placed in jail in Jerusalem.  Could also talk about a current example of this–China, India, Iran….Here’s one conversation starter about China.

Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank–These come in such rapid succession that I didn’t dare try to explain the symbolism behind them.  I was interested enough to look up the definition of Pickthank: “One who strives to put another under obligation; an officious person; hence, a flatterer.”  I actually preferred Noah Webster’s summary from 1811: “a whispering parasite.”  But it’s not necessary to grasp the drama.  And at this point, that’s the real point.  I wanted to help my kids know that these people were very mean and didn’t like Christian and Faithful because they didn’t love God.  Faithful’s response summarizes things quite well.  He says, “…your Laws and your Religion are flat against the Word of God.”  That’s what I want my kids to remember from this passage.

Judge and Jury–Most kids probably won’t get a lot of this either.  But so long as they know these are the men who decide what will happen to Faithful, that’s probably enough.  My kids’ related the judge to mom or dad who ask them what they did wrong and then tell them whether they should have a punishment.

Death–Death isn’t the end for Faithful, and my kids were really impressed that he got to take a short-cut home.  Bible Reference: Stephen’s martyrdom in Acts 7.  Q.  How is God faithful to Faithful?  How is God faithful in a different way to Christian and Hopeful?  This part of the story is really my focus this chapter, so see above for more Bible References and devotional application.

City of Fair-Speech–Similar to Vanity, Fair-Speech is a place of folks who “talk good” but have evil in their hearts.  The focus here seems to be on money, since “it was a place where Money ruled, and where Religion went in silver slippers.”  Q.  Have you ever known anyone who said nice things at first but hurt you later on?  Have you ever acted that way toward others?  Bible Reference:  Acts 19, in which the people in Ephesus whose fought Christianity because it took away their business.

Hill of Lucre (money)–Bunyan includes so many Scripture references here and for the previous page that I really don’t think I’ll even attempt to sum it up.  Highly recommend reading that section of the original, though, if you’d like ideas to help your kids think through the temptations of money.  You can find it at paragraphs {259} through {276} or so in the free Project Gutenberg version.

On to Dangerous Journey, part 7