“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they
are older, they will not leave it.”
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Humility isn’t exactly my
strongest character trait… not even in the top 10. But, as I’ve grown closer to the Lord, I’ve
seen its importance. I understand its
value. But, more importantly, I’ve come to appreciate my responsibility as a
parent to teach humility to my children… God help me, to even model it.
A few years ago, it became very
apparent to us that despite being raised in homes of faith, neither my husband
nor I really understood what it meant to walk with Jesus everyday, all day
long. As our eyes were opened to the
possibility of Jesus being introduced to every aspect of our lives, not just sporadic
sprinklings here and there and a concentrated dose on Sunday, we immediately
began to see that things needed to change in our home. Our priorities needed to change. The way we talked to one another needed to
change. Our rules needed to change. But, introducing change isn’t always easy…
mutiny is always a risk. However,
humility is a powerful ally.
One fateful night, my husband and
I sat our kids down and explained what God was stirring in our hearts…that we
hadn’t been the best examples of God’s love; that we hadn’t set the best
example for what it looks like to follow Jesus.
We also began to explain our need, and our desire, to do a better job at
being the parents God wanted us to be. And this began with a heartfelt apology
to our kids, as well as to God, for not being obedient to the call on our lives
as parents. Our apology was received
with stunned silence and slack jaws, which is completely understandable. It’s not exactly commonplace in our house for
the adults to apologize to the kids.
We’re usually the ones forcing the kids to apologize through clenched
teeth. Yet, through God’s endless grace, our children saw that humility is not
a sign of weakness. Instead, it’s a display of adoration for Jesus. Humility
isn’t necessarily about putting someone else above us. It’s about exalting Jesus above all. Our purpose was to demonstrate to our
children that humility isn’t about belittling us, but about bringing praise to
God.
Now, of course, there have been
more missteps along the way than I care to count. Pride rears its ugly head and
self-centeredness constantly tries to steal the reigns. But, as a family, we continuously try to
remind ourselves of the importance of humility… of putting the needs of others
before our own, but, more importantly, of putting Jesus first. This is
counter-cultural. It goes against the
“every-man-for-himself” mentality that has consumed our world. Our love for
others is suppose to set us apart, but if we refuse to demonstrate this love
through humility, we are missing an amazing opportunity to not only show the
love of Jesus, but to draw closer to Him ourselves.
Challenge
Practice the art of humility. While we might be tempted to do something
nice for someone we know pretty well… try doing it for someone else… someone
that would never expect you to think of them.
(And don’t forget to tell them that Jesus put them on your heart!)
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