Friday Fun
8/21/15 The Toothpaste Challenge
Main Point: Words cannot be “taken back,” so we should be very careful with what we say.
The Activity: A Lesson from Toothpaste
Say, “There are really two problems when it comes to hurtful words. First, somebody gets hurt when we lose control of our mouths. Secondly, no matter how hard we try, or how “sincere” we may be, we CANNOT take back what was said. Maybe this image will help you understand what I mean.”
Pull out a tube of toothpaste.
“Let’s say this tube of toothpaste is our mouths and the toothpaste inside is a hurtful word, or a lie, or a piece of gossip.” Squeeze the tube really hard, shooting toothpaste out of the tube. Point to the toothpaste on the floor or table and say, “See that mess; it’s a lot like the mess we get into when we lose control of our mouths. The mess alone is a big enough issue, but there’s another really big dilemma: no matter how hard you try, you CANNOT put the toothpaste back in the tube. The same thing is true with our words: you cannot put them back in your mouth. Hurtful words can’t be taken back. We need to be really careful about what we say.”
Main Point: Words cannot be “taken back,” so we should be very careful with what we say.
The Activity: A Lesson from Toothpaste
Say, “There are really two problems when it comes to hurtful words. First, somebody gets hurt when we lose control of our mouths. Secondly, no matter how hard we try, or how “sincere” we may be, we CANNOT take back what was said. Maybe this image will help you understand what I mean.”
Pull out a tube of toothpaste.
“Let’s say this tube of toothpaste is our mouths and the toothpaste inside is a hurtful word, or a lie, or a piece of gossip.” Squeeze the tube really hard, shooting toothpaste out of the tube. Point to the toothpaste on the floor or table and say, “See that mess; it’s a lot like the mess we get into when we lose control of our mouths. The mess alone is a big enough issue, but there’s another really big dilemma: no matter how hard you try, you CANNOT put the toothpaste back in the tube. The same thing is true with our words: you cannot put them back in your mouth. Hurtful words can’t be taken back. We need to be really careful about what we say.”
