Week 40 | Humble As A Child

When you go from elementary to middle school, people start going through important changes. Around the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th grades, you start to figure out who you want to be. Before that, your parents pretty much dictate everything, and you just followed. But around middle school, you start to make those decisions for yourself.

When you get to high school, those decisions become more and more your own, and the decisions you make begin to set you up for life beyond high school.

Take some time to think about who you really want to be. For the rest of your life, you really have to be aware of who you are, who you want to be, and the gap between the two. Make sure that every decision is aligned with who you want to be.

People around you will start making all kinds of choices, good and bad, and you will have to choose which path you want to go down.

In Matthew 18, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus brought a little child to Him and said, “Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)

Jesus then said, “If you cause one of these little ones who trust in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the seas.” (Matthew 18:6)

Here, Jesus tells us two things. First, we should always stay humble like a child. Young kids have no worries, and they don't stress about tomorrow. They don't have anxiety or fear of what tomorrow brings. They don't worry about making the team, getting the job, finances, food, clothing, shelter, or looking and being cool. Young kids are happy and full of hope, and they don't have a lot of worries distracting their minds.

When we become teenagers, we begin to become rebellious, self-centered, and selfish. We want to break free from the control of our parents and want more control over our lives. We want to be free, but we don't realize our reliance on fitting in and doing what the people around us are doing, and how we start to focus on ourselves. This leads to worry, stress, and anxiety; the opposite of freedom.

Second, we should be good people and role models and never lead anyone else to sin. Be a good leader. When people see you, they should see somebody trying to do the right thing.

Pastor Andy Nixon of Munger Place Church in Dallas once said that we should always choose the humble path:

The humble guided is the righteous one. It is never the arrogant answer that is correct. It is the humble path that Jesus walks; that is what servants do. They walk humble steps and humble paths.

Preacher and former professional soccer player Jesse Bradley has an acronym that he uses. it is B.L.E.S.S. = BEGIN with prayer, be quick to LISTEN and slow to speak, break bread and EAT with others because great things happen over meals, find ways to SERVE others, and SHARE authentically, kindly, and humbly.

Humble yourself like a child. In every decision, choose the humble path. Look for opportunities to bless others. That doesn't mean you are soft and weak; it means you are strong enough to make a positive difference in the lives of other people.

THIS WEEK

1 – Stay humble like a child. Really focus on walking the humble path and being a blessing to others.

2 – What is one way that you can be humble and bless others?

3 – When is being humble hard to do?

4 – When being humble is hard, what is something that you can do to overcome that challenge?

For a Google doc version of this devo, click here: Humble as a child