“All of you gird yourselves with humility of mind toward one another, because God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones. Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (1 Pet. 5:5, 6)
Humility, also known as lowliness of mind, is the character trait which our family is currently focusing. I've been contemplating the way in which I would teach this one. What do I want the children to understand about it? How can they apply it in their lives? I am putting together a series of posts around this topic. The following is related to the more spiritual aspects of humility.
Why Be Humble???
Humility means submissiveness; submissiveness means obedience; obedience means to do God’s will.
Matt. 18:3, 4; Ps. 138:6; Mic. 6:8
Humility will help us to walk humbly before our God. It will safeguard us from becoming haughty, assertive, boastful or proud. It will save us from our own self-importance in personal bearing, in our manner of dress, and in our style of living.
Humility will help us in our prayers to God. It will make us keenly aware of our need of Him, of our inability and imperfection. It will save us from trying to justify ourselves
Humility teaches us to incline our ear toward God, and not away from him
Ps. 25:1, 4, 5; Prov. 15:33; 16:18; 18:12
Humility will shield us from bragging and prating about ourselves in a vainglorious way before our family, friends, or strangers
Humility will keep us from assuming that others are as much interested in our personal achievements as we are.
Humility will not allow us to have a high opinion of ourselves; it will not grant a display of self before others, nor will it permit us to belittle others of whom we may be envious or for whom we may have contempt.
Humility teaches us respect for our fathers and mothers, friends and family.
Humility is knowing one’s own insignificance in relationship to everything else. It clothes man with a lowliness of mind. It esteems others as better than himself.
Humility keeps us from trusting in ourselves or men, but it teaches us that it is wisdom to trust in God with all our heart and not to lean on our own understanding. Prov. 3:5, 6
Humility leads to peace with others.
Those are some of the basic spiritual reasons I will be going over with the children during this study period. Is humility a topic you teach? What are your reasons?
Happy Homeschooling!
Michelle
8 comments:
Two thoughts:
We learn also that humility makes us more receptive to God's message; water can flow only into an empty vessel.
The image of humility that I have shared with my children most often is that of Mount Sinai; a small, undeserving bump in the middle of a wilderness - nowhere, really.
Yet God chose this, a very "ordinary" spot, to bring his message to humanity through the Jewish people.
To us (we're Jewish), this represents the fact that even the most ordinary people can carry out an extraordinary mission.
Good post!
I love this idea of Character Training. I used your Humility post as a basis for my Afternoon Worship with my girls today. We read the scriptures and also Bible Story 94 - He Loves Little Children, in which Jesus uses the example of little children to teach a lesson about humility. Humility is a quality we all struggle with. We are inclined to try to justify ourselves when we are corrected. We have to stop and remind ourselves to be quiet and swallow our pride and accept correction.
Jennifer: Thanks for the input! I love that Mt. Sinai example.. great point!!
Tina: So glad it could help. I got the ideas from various articles in older magazines (on the cd). Glad you could use it!
Tina: good thoughts - thanks!
LOVE the homeschool quote of the month at the top of your blog!
I think it is an excellent idea to focus on one habit at a time together! excellent! and humility is especially important. maybe we'll have to copy you! ;)
I'm loving this weeks' carnival!
thanks for sharing!
amy in peru
Jamie: Thanks! I know a lot of those John Holt quotes as a former unschooler LOL
Amy: Dont ya love seeing what others are doing and how they do it? I do. I can only hope that others find value in what I share too. Thanks for dropping by.
Jamie: Thanks! I know a lot of those John Holt quotes as a former unschooler LOL
Amy: Dont ya love seeing what others are doing and how they do it? I do. I can only hope that others find value in what I share too. Thanks for dropping by.
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