OBJECTS: A Large White Pasteboard Card with a Heart
in the Center; a Number of Black Pins; a Large Apple=
I once heard a story about a little boy whose bad temper troubled
him, because when in anger he would speak words that would cut and
stick in, So in order that he might know how bad were the bad words
he uttered he made a large white heart, and in its center he put a
cross. He hung this card in his own room and called it "The Heart of
Jesus." Whenever he said an angry word, he would stick in the heart a
black pin, just to remind him of the fact that every cross word he
said hurt Jesus. This soon brought him to his senses, and the heart
with the black pins hurt him so greatly that it was a check to his
bad speaking. This teaches us the fact that our sins hurt Jesus. When
he was among men he wept over the sinner. Perhaps he does now.
Secure a pasteboard heart about one foot in diameter and pin it up on
some background where the audience can see it, then tell the above
story, and begin to put the black pins (or other pins) in the heart
as you name the bad words the children say. Black pins are preferred
as they will show more plainly by reason of the white background.
After there are a number of pins in the heart call the attention to
the fact that some of those piercing words were spoken about very
small, simple things.
There is an old story that tells us about two brothers who were out
walking together. One night, one of them looking up to the sky said,
"I wish I had a field as large as the night heavens." The other boy
also looking up, said, "I wish I had as many oxen as there are stars
in the sky." "Well," said the first brother, "How would you feed so
many oxen!" The other brother replied, "I would turn them out into
your pasture." "What," said the first brother, "would you do that
without my permission?" "Yes, whether you would give permission or
not." And so they quarreled, and when the quarrel was ended one of
them had been slain by the other. It began by playful talk, but ended
in tragedy. I think that boy must have filled the heart of Jesus with
black pins of temper.
Temper is a blemish, a black spot, and often happy little children
that are called "sunshine," can in a moment turn about and show the
black spot of temper and spoil all the sunshine. A good mother trying
to teach this lesson to her little girl held up before her a
beautiful apple and asked her what she thought of it. She said it was
perfect and lovely. The mother turned it around, and there on the
other side was a large black spot. "Oh, that spoils it all," cried
the little girl. Then the mother said to her little girl, "I think
that resembles my little daughter," and the little girl knew what it
meant. Her temper was her black spot. So every black pin in this
heart came out of the black spot in the heart of the one who spoke
the angry words. A few days later the beautiful apple lost its glory,
the black spot had spread, and the apple soon decayed. This was to
teach the little girl that if the sin of temper was not thrown out,
and persistently kept out, it would at last destroy the soul.
You can here introduce an apple fair and beautiful with a speck on
the other side of it. This will help visualize the truth. Don't think
that the black spot of temper will always remain on the hidden side,
because it will find its way out sooner or later and will find you at
last.
A schoolmaster one day missed several boys from school. He had a
shrewd suspicion they were playing truant. In the afternoon the boys
came to school and he asked one of them where he had been. The boy
replied that his mother had kept him home that morning to mind the
baby. "Let me look at your tongue," said the master, and he did so,
and it was black. "It is just as I thought. You have spent the
morning rambling in the woods, picking blackberries." He examined the
tongues of the other boys and found them all black also. Their
tongues had told on them. Black tongues of temper always tell out
their black words. What shall I do with my angry words? My hot mouth
so often shoots off evil words. You cannot slay them; when you think
they are buried, they will walk out of their graves and fight again.
Bring your heart to Jesus, because your tongue only says what your
heart whispers to it, Ask Jesus to give you daily good thoughts and
let them speak out in good words.
Once I read a fairy tale about a good little boy. Every time he spoke
there fell from his lips a piece of gold. He grew more beautiful
every day, and at last married the daughter of a king. This is only a
fairy tale, but it teaches us a real lesson. When we say kind words
the angels treasure them in heaven as pure gold.
Now take the pins out from the heart, and cut out a number of blocks
of gold paper, and as you recite the good words pin them on the heart
of Jesus. Such people are precious in his sight. They are his
priceless jewels.
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