1 Peter 5:5b-6 - All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
We started tonight by playing a game called "I am". We went around the room and let each youth state something they are and are not good at, each statement beginning with, "I am". Interestingly enough, for most of the kids, it was easier to state something they are good at than something they are not good at.
Then we played another game. We divided the kids into two teams. Each team had a bucket of water, a sample bar of soap, and a towel. Kids on each team took turns going to the bucket and using the soap to wash their hands. Then they dried their hands on the towel and went to the end of the line. This relay went on for 5 minutes. The team with the smallest bar of soap at the end of the relay won.
We also watched a clip from the movie Battleship where soccer player Alex Hopper insists on kicking the free kick that could send the game into overtime even though he is dazed and injured after being kicked in the face by a player on the opposing team. We talked about where Alex went wrong in this scene and what negative character quality he displayed.
We told the kids then that tonight's lesson was all about pride. We started with the definition of pride...a high opinion of oneself...looks, deeds, accomplishments, social status, possessions, etc... We talked about how it's ok to be proud of yourself for a job well-done...winning a talent competition or sports event, getting good grades, etc...
But their is a point when pride in ourselves can harden our hearts towards God. We think so much of ourselves, that everything else around us looks so small, including God. To demonstrate this, we gave the kids a magnifying glass and gave them each the opportunity to look through the wrong side of it at objects that now appeared super small compared to their original sizes. This is the way we see things and others around us when we are filled with too much pride. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves.
So what does God think about pride? Why is it that big of a deal?
- When King Nebuchadnezzar took the credit for how great a city Babylon had become and became prideful, he was stripped of his status as King and spent the next seven years of his life eating grass in a field with his hair growing long all over him and his nails growing as long as a bird's claws. He was insane.
- In Esther, Haman became angry when Mordecai wouldn't bow down to him because he thought he was all that. Haman ended up hung on the very gallows he built to hang Mordecai on.
In reality, there are so many stories of pride and Scriptures relating to the topic that we could have talked all night about them!
The opposite of pride is humility. It is a modest or low view of oneself. Jesus demonstrated humility when he lowered Himself to that of a servant and took on the task of washing His disciples' feet in John 13. Hence, our hand-washing, soap-shrinking game ;)!
We ended our lesson on pride talking about its consequences. We demonstrated this by blowing soap bubbles. The bubbles are filled with pride, making them rise to the top in their thoughts about themselves. Eventually though, what comes up, must come down. The loftier we think of ourselves, the lower God will humble us to regain the glory we have unrightfully stolen from Him. After all, anything we are or have accomplished is all because of God anyway. He created us and blesses us. We cannot take the credit for any of it.
We demonstrated this with vinegar in the bottom of a 16 oz. water bottle as well. We put a balloon with baking soda over the top of the water bottle's mouth. When the baking soda made contact with the vinegar in the bottom of the bottle, the reaction between the two caused the balloon to blow up, seemingly by itself. After a few minutes though, the balloon deflated back to its original size.
Pride can be a tough concept for kids, as the majority of them believe the world revolves around them and their existence. But prayerfully, after tonight, they will look at pride...and themselves...a little differently.
