Humility
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.” – Psalm 25:9
As we are learning about humility, I’m realizing that a huge reason why people struggle with pride is because they think of themselves as better or more important than other people. The Bible teaches something different than that. It teaches that everyone was created unique and with special abilities, gifts and talents. Each person is valuable and has important roles to play on this earth and in a community of believers. I couldn’t help but automatically think about 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, where Paul talks about us being a bunch of different parts that make up one body. Here is how I paraphrased this passage for the kids:
One Body, Many Parts
The body is one body, but it is made up of many parts. Can you name some of the parts of the body? It is the same with the people in God’s family. We are all different, but we come together to form the body of Christ. What would happen if the foot said, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body?” That’s ridiculous, right? What if an ear said, “Because I’m not an eye, I do not belong to the body?” What is an ear good for? You’re right, hearing. We need that part too, don’t we? If the whole body were an eye, how would we hear? If the whole body were an ear, how would we smell? God put together all the parts of our body with important jobs so we can work together to help us function well. He made each part just how He wanted it to be. So, we have a lot of parts that make up one body, right? And each part is important, right? The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts that don’t seem very important are actually really important. Each person created is also important – just like the parts of the body. The Bible teaches that each member of the body of Christ has an important role – some people are good at miracles, healing, speaking, teaching, or leading. We are all given at least one gift or talent to share with other people. It’s so important for us to see that other people are valuable too. Each person was created by God. Part of being humble is seeing that each person is important and that you are no better than anyone else because you have talents and abilities, but you also have sins or ways you mess up. We are all loved by God. Pride doesn’t see that.
One Body, Many Parts Activity
Next we moved on to the activity. I traced around Abby so that we would have an outline of a body. Then, I had the girls come up with talents, gifts or jobs that people do. I would ask them to come up with an idea, and then they would tell me where they wanted to put that word on the body. I helped come up with a few ideas also. I asked why that type of person was important and what the world would look like without them. Why is a janitor important? Everything would get messy without someone to clean up. Why is a fire fighter important? They save lives and help houses not to burn down. Why is it important to have leaders? So we can have direction and know what to do. You can find values in jobs as well as talents. As we begin to recognize the value of others, pride can be diminished.
I love these thoughts. I’ve talked to my children about humility, yet there is nothing like a hands on activity to help them really get it. I think I’m going to have to this one with them. Thanks for sharing this important lesson!
Love the heart of your blog. I just stopped by there to spend some time. I love your focus on marriage on Mondays. I’ve wanted to find a way to really emphasize that on my blog too, but I haven’t worked it in yet. I think I’m devoted to this format for a year and then may mix it up and add that element in the new year. I just started following your blog. Thanks for your focus there!