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I think my three children are wonderful except when they are misbehaving. At these times, I must confess, in my eyes, they fall far short of the wonder to which they are called. Yet, in my more serene moments, I see all of them as major blessings and small instruments of God to keep me humble.

Just for clarification, humility is not to be equated with I-am-a-door-mat-ism or with I-am-a-worm-ism. This is just another face of pride in reverse, which can be as nauseating to others as seeing yourself as superior.

Humility, according to the Bible, is seeing yourself as significant and valuable in the sight of God--no better nor less than anyone else (see 1 Corinthians 12).

One of the major things I’ve learned through my children, however, is how much I do not know and how incompetent I am to raise them successively without divine help. I often find myself looking to God for a stable view of myself because their perception of me keeps changing. One second I seem to be their hero and the next I hear: “You don’t know anything, Dad!”

Young boys also have a tendency to magnify the strengths of their fathers, which can lead to some humbling moments. They don’t realize that it’s one thing to scare away the imaginary bogeyman in the closet and quite another to tackle a real thief coming through the window. Most dads don’t want their sons to know that they may have trouble putting the paper down and getting out of the recliner--let alone fighting off an intruder.

But, be that as it may, my nine-year-old boy, Samuel, was tired of losing his wrestling matches with me. He decided, therefore, to draft Joe, an old college friend of mine whose family was visiting, to jump me as I was passing through the living room to the lunch table.

Unsuspectingly, I walked into their trap (of course, I was thinking about food) and Joe quickly got me into a half Nelson wrestling hold. Despite my pleas of “Ah…Ah…Joe. That’s my neck you have there” Joe refused to let go. I felt totally at his mercy. As a slender office-bound lawyer for years I was bewildered where he got the muscles. Suddenly, Samuel changed sides and started pulling Joe off me, which gave me just what I needed to break out of Joe’s vice grip.

Later, Samuel explained how shocked he was in seeing me, his dad, actually losing (in his mind he probably figured I could take on five Joes with one arm tied behind my back). But it took only seconds, he said, before he knew he had to save me. His face beamed at the thought of rescuing his dad.

I knew his view of me as “Dad the Invincible” would come to an end eventually and I was glad it wasn’t too dramatic a revelation for him. This was confirmed the other day when he asked me to take out his stuck trumpet mouthpiece for him. I said, “No problem” but ducked into the hallway just to avoid possible embarrassment in front of our dinner guests.

Unfortunately, despite my facial grimaces and color changes, the part remained frozen.

Samuel then looked at me like we shared a guarded secret and with a twinkle in his eye said, “Should I ask Mr. Besson to get it out for me?”

I said, “No” and he took the trumpet as it was to his music lesson. Later, he said in a serious tone, “You know, Dad, there was a guy half your age at school who took out that mouthpiece.” He waited for dramatic effect before he smiled and added, “But he used oil.”

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:8).

Other verses: I Corinthians 12

Questions:

When it comes to pride, what tendency do you have--to think you are superior to others or inferior? Why are both wrong according to the Word of God?

What gifts of the spirit do you think you possess and why?

What do the other members of the family think are your special gifts?