Growing Together By Ewald & Beatrix van RensburgSample

Humility, the antidote to pride

Best and worst

Give everyone a chance to talk about the best and worst moments of their day.

Where did you encounter Jesus today?

Talk to each other about how each family member encountered Jesus, and about something or someone that reminded them of Him.

In biblical times, the word “humility” was used to describe horses that were tame and had a gentle nature. Because untamed horses could be dangerous, humility also means to be restrained. The Lord, therefore, wants to be in control of your life.

• Why do you think Jesus told this story?

• What did you feel while you were listening to this story?

• What does this passage ask of you practically?

Thought for the day

If you start thinking too much of yourself, you become conceited! Then you easily forget who you are and who God is. Do you know how important humility is in life? It always has a positive influence in your relationships with God and with your fellow man.

Humble people never try to stand in the spotlight. Life becomes one huge festival when one lives like that. Thomas Merton said, “Humility is being precisely the person you actually are in the presence of God, which means that the secret of humility is not to focus on behaving in a certain way but to focus on the presence of God.”

And the patriarch Augustine wrote, “If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are meaningless.”

Humility means never looking down on people who look up to you . . . that’s how Jesus was, and that’s how we should be as His followers!

Activity

Buy a bag of white stones. Give each family member two stones and instruct them to write on the front of one: “There is only one God” and on the back, “People must worship Him”. On the other stone, write: “I am made in the image of God” on one side and on the other, “Let the Jesus in me serve the Jesus in you”. 

Prayer

Lord, these three things come from You: the humble word (knowing who I am); the melodic word (knowing who You are); and the good word (knowing who others are). O Spirit of God, let the power of these three holy things always live in me. Amen.

Random act of kindness

Ask your children to go through their collection of toys and to set aside those they do not play with. (This should exclude broken toys.) Collect all the toys and deliver them to a children’s home.

For parents only

Teach your children to appreciate one another’s gifts and achievements, and to do the same for others.