"Salty Water" Bible Object Lesson about Kind Words (James 3: 9-12)

We live in a world where dirty language is considered “cool.” Even small children can feel tempted to swear. We can thank our current pop culture and permissive parents for this unsettling trend but we don’t have to sit back and let that go. Teach kids what the Bible says about what God says about fresh and salty waters. Yes, we are the salt of the earth but we aren’t meant to have salty language. Ready to teach?
What You’ll Need:

• Empty water bottles
• Salty water
• Dixie cups

Prepare to Teach
Empty about a fifth of the bottle and pour in a teaspoon of salt. Reseal the water. Secretly mark the bottle so you’ll know which bottle contains the salty water. Place them in the teach area.
Let’s Teach
Start by reading, James 3: 9-12   “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”
What can this mean? What do you think it means? (Allow kids to share what they think. Whatever their answers say, ‘That’s interesting.”) Here’s what I think this passage means. God says that we can’t have both praises and curses coming out of the mouth. When praises come out of our mouths we are offering the world fresh water. When we are cursing we are pouring out salt water. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been really thirsty? So thirsty that you couldn’t wait to get something to drink? Me too! What if you reached for a water bottle, like one of these, cracked it open, took a big drink and found it was salt water. Would that have satisfied your thirst?
I need a volunteer to do a bit of taste testing for me. I have some water here. One is fresh and one is salty. (Pour a tiny sample in each. don’t let kids drink too much salty water. They could get sick.)
After the volunteer drinks the waters ask, “Which one tasted best? Which one would you want if you were thirsty?”
Right! You want fresh water when you are thirsty. Let’s give our friends and family and everyone fresh water. Don’t allow curses to come out of your mouth. Give the world what it needs, fresh water–a mouth filled with praises to God.
Read more from Mimi by following her blog at Tools for Kids Church.