Paper Towel Dispenser Experiment

 

When I taught middle school, we had ratchet type paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms.  As I stood outside of the boys’ bathroom, I would hear them cranking out the paper towels wasting so much paper.  So, one day I conducted an experiment.  I made it a big deal, and the kids loved it.  One boy held open the bathroom door so that all could see.  Next, I had a boy wash his hands, then pump the paper towel dispenser three times and wipe his hands on the dispensed paper towel.  His hands were still wet for all to see.  So, I had him wash his hands again, but use four pumps.  His hands were still wet.  He used five pushes on the paper towel dispenser and his hands appeared dry.  To be sure, I had him wash his hands one more time and dry them on six pushes of the paper towel lever.  This time, the paper towel had dry places on it proving that, although his hands were dry, paper toweling had clearly been wasted.  The class determined that five pumps was the optimum paper towel usage where the hands were dried, but no paper toweling was wasted.  So, from that day forward, the boys had a decision: do I waste paper towel or not.  From that day forward, they knew how much paper toweling they needed, and they knew when they were wasting paper toweling.  Hey, the same is true of us in our spiritual lives.  When we hear a great sermon at church and our sins are exposed, we are no longer in ignorance.  Now we know.  We’ve been told.  And James said in James 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”  So now it is no longer a matter of knowing or not knowing, it is a matter of obeying or refusing to obey.  And rebellion against God is a big deal.  A really big deal.  And don’t you forget it, because from this day forward, you know.  And I know that you know, because I told you.