Mighty Mouths

"If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.  Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." James 3:3-10

What mighty mouths we have! They have the power to build others up and the power to destroy them. This little tongue, this tiny part of our body, can cause a whole heap of trouble! I know first hand because I have often struggled with "taming" my tongue. Today, I wanted to teach my children about our mighty mouths and how we often use them to both glorify God and to hurt others. So I thought I'd share this very simple, yet effective lesson with you.

SET-UP:
1) In the center of a poster board, draw a mouth about the size of your fist. It should be an open mouth since most of the things we are going to discuss you would do with an open mouth!
2) Around the mouth, draw 10 speech bubbles. In each bubble write one word per box:

• slander
• good advice
• name calling
• honesty
• lying
• not saying anything
• gossip
• humility
• boasting
• courtesy

(Hang your poster in the classroom where they can see it easily)

I found this poster in an old Lifeway Sunday school
teacher's packet. But this would be easy enough to
draw out on a poster board.

3) On a piece of construction paper or card stock, draw 2 boxes for each child you have (ie. I was teaching this to my 2 children oldest so I had 4 boxes). In each box, draw a mouth inside the box. They should be different (ie. one smiling and one frowning). Then cut out the boxes and tape a craft stick to the back of each box so that it makes a mini sign.

4) Have some hand sanitizer on hand for after the game :)

LESSON:
First, play a game with your kids to get them to understand how their tongue helps them speak. Have them stick out their tongues and hold it between their thumb and forefinger and tell them to say "speak." They will try and try but it will just sound like mumbo jumbo. You can have them say an array or words, however long you want the game to last. They will laugh and giggle. Then, explain to them that even though their tongue seems little compared to the rest of their body, it is very important. We can't speak without it! And the Bible tells us our tongues are very powerful. (Don't forget to sanitize their hands after the game).

Next, paraphrase James 3:3-10 referenced above. You can read it straight from Scripture if you want to. Mine are a little young to understand the language, so I simply explained each analogy individually. I talked to them about the horse and bridle, then about the boat and rudder, and then about the forest fire and spark. Then I discussed with them how something very small has the power to do big things. And just like these, the Bible tells us that our tongues and what we say have the power to bring life or death. That we can use our tongues in ways that glorify God and put others first, or we can use our tongues in ways that are sinful and hurt others.  

Finally, I gave each child a good mouth sign and a bad mouth sign. We discussed each bubble on our poster and decided whether it was a good way to use our mouths or a bad way to use our mouths. Then they would hold up the proper sign over their own mouth. You can also number the speech bubbles and play a game by rolling dice and saying the corresponding word. Then have the kids hold up the proper sign. Once we finished discussing all the different ways we can use our mighty mouths, we prayed and thanked God for our mouths. We thanked Him for giving us the ability to speak and use our mouths for good, and asked Him to help us not use our mouths for bad.

The kids LOVED this lesson and it was very easy to explain everything. It was a good, interactive lesson where they added a lot of dialog. The poster will stay up in the classroom so I can point to it in situations where they need to be reminded of how to use their mouth for good. I hope that your kiddos will enjoy it as much as mine did!

Bye for now,
Kristina