How sugar cubes, marshmallows and Legos can help you build a better relationship

Construction took center stage at a recent gathering of the Port Ann Wesleyan Youth Group. After prayer and announcements, the teens in attendance were challenged to a building competition. Three teams were selected, one of which was given a box of sugar cubes, another a bag of marshmallows, the third a bucket of Legos.

The ground rules were simple:Whoever could build the best structure — both in height and stability — would be the winner.

After about 20 minutes of building time, the sugar cube team had the highest structure, the Lego crew had the most stable and the marshmallow team didn’t have much of anything. For those looking to recreate this trick with their respective youth groups, I’d strongly recommend the large marshmallows. Small ones just don’t stack all that well.

We then took a moment to dive into God’s word — specifically Matthew 7:24-27:24 (NIV):

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

With these words still fresh in everyone’s mind, we tested their structures one more time — by dumping water on top of each.

The marshmallows simply floated around with no anchor to the ground. The sugar cubes instantly fell apart and before long were dissolved into a sweet syrupy mess. The Legos, obviously, stood strong.

We talked a while about the verse — about the house in the metaphor Jesus provided and the foundation. Big-picture-wise, it was pretty much a consensus that the house represented our lives, the foundation being God’s word and living a life for Him.

The teens were asked to take that concept one step further. What if the “house” in this situation was a relationship they were starting with a peer. What could they take from the verses shared to help make sure that any relationship they begin would be moored in the proper foundation?

The scenario offered a great opportunity to talk about some of the best foundations for a successful foundation, such as making sure you are “equally yoked” with a potential partner, starting any relationship with a firm grasp of God’s word and living the concepts He shares via the Bible, making sure that both parties are able to stand individually before committing to a relationship where both sides will need to support the other at one point or another — and a variety of other topics.